economic development strategy and action plan 2009 ... - City of Barrie

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN
2009 ‐ 2014

Final Report
City of Barrie
5 Year Economic Development
Strategy + Action Plan
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November 2009

Contents
Executive Summary…….............................................................................................................................5
1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 14
1.1 Purpose of the Report ................................................................................................................. 14
1.2 Approach ..................................................................................................................................... 15
2 Economic Base Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 16
2.1 Strategic Location ....................................................................................................................... 16
2.1.1 City of Barrie Boundary Adjustment .................................................................................... 17
2.2 Population Growth ....................................................................................................................... 17
2.3 Population by Age Structure ....................................................................................................... 19
2.4 Ethnic Diversity............................................................................................................................ 20
2.5 Labour Force Profile .................................................................................................................... 22
2.5.1 Labour Force by Industry .................................................................................................... 23
2.5.2 Labour Force Flow Pattern .................................................................................................. 25
2.5.3 Labour Force by Place of Work ........................................................................................... 26
2.5.4 Labour Force by Occupation ............................................................................................... 28
2.6 Educational Attainment ............................................................................................................... 29
2.7 Income Levels ............................................................................................................................. 30
2.8 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................................. 32
3 Industry Sector Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 34
3.1 Location Quotients Analysis ........................................................................................................ 34
3.2 Business Patterns Assessment ................................................................................................... 37
3.2.1 Key Business Characteristics .............................................................................................. 38
3.3 Target Sector Opportunities ........................................................................................................ 40
3.3.1 Transportation + Warehousing // Wholesale Trade Sectors ............................................... 41
3.3.2 Manufacturing Sector .......................................................................................................... 42
3.3.3 Construction Sector ............................................................................................................. 43
3.3.4 Professional, Scientific + Business Services Sector ........................................................... 46
3.3.5 Health Industries ................................................................................................................. 47
3.4 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................................. 48
4 The Impact of Creative Economy ........................................................................................................ 51
4.1 The Creative Economy Defined .................................................................................................. 51
4.1.1 Creative Occupations .......................................................................................................... 52
4.1.2 Creative Businesses and Enterprises ................................................................................. 54
4.2 Barrie’s Creative Economy .......................................................................................................... 54
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5 SWOT Assessment ............................................................................................................................. 57
5.1 Strengths ..................................................................................................................................... 57
5.1.1 Quality of Life ...................................................................................................................... 57
5.1.2 Transportation and Connectivity to GTA ............................................................................. 58
5.1.3 Growth of Georgian College ................................................................................................ 58
5.1.4 Expansion of Royal Victoria Hospital .................................................................................. 58
5.1.5 Revitalization of Allandale Station ....................................................................................... 59
5.1.6 Youthful and Growing Population ........................................................................................ 59
5.1.7 Significant Infrastructure Investment ................................................................................... 59
5.1.8 Small Businesses Growth Reflects Entrepreneurial Culture ............................................... 59
5.1.9 Growing Support for Arts and Culture ................................................................................. 59
5.1.10 A Focus on Cultural Tourism ............................................................................................... 60
5.2 Weaknesses ................................................................................................................................ 60
5.2.1 Perceived Lack of Leadership ............................................................................................. 60
5.2.2 Lack of Support for Small Business .................................................................................... 60
5.2.3 Lack of Regional Collaboration ........................................................................................... 61
5.2.4 Availability of Serviced Employment Land .......................................................................... 61
5.2.5 High Levels of Commuting .................................................................................................. 61
5.2.6 Lack of a University ............................................................................................................. 61
5.3 Opportunities ............................................................................................................................... 61
5.3.1 Continued Focus on Barrie’s Downtown ............................................................................. 62
5.3.2 Elevate the Marketing Efforts of the City ............................................................................. 62
5.3.3 Greater Emphasis on Enhancing Quality of Place .............................................................. 62
5.3.4 Increase Levels of Business Support .................................................................................. 62
5.3.5 Develop Health Care Sector ............................................................................................... 62
5.3.6 Expand Post Secondary Education Opportunities .............................................................. 63
5.3.7 Develop Relationship with CFB Borden .............................................................................. 63
5.3.8 Continued Support of Simcoe Regional Airport .................................................................. 63
5.3.9 Focus on Creative Economy to Drive Growth ..................................................................... 63
5.3.10 Secure Office Park Development on Annexed Lands ......................................................... 64
5.3.11 Facilitate on Ongoing Dialogue with Local Business .......................................................... 64
5.3.12 Extend a Welcome to Newcomers ...................................................................................... 64
5.4 Threats ........................................................................................................................................ 64
5.4.1 Annexed Land not immediately available ........................................................................... 64
5.4.2 Declining Manufacturing Sector .......................................................................................... 64
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5.4.3 Traffic Congestion a Deterrent to Industry .......................................................................... 65
5.4.4 Reliance on Quality of Life .................................................................................................. 65
5.4.5 Lack of Regional Collaboration ........................................................................................... 65
6 Strategic Directions ............................................................................................................................. 66
6.1 Current Policy Framework ........................................................................................................... 66
6.1.1 City of Barrie, 20 Year Plan – Foundation for Our Future ................................................... 66
6.1.2 Downtown Commercial Master Plan (2006) ....................................................................... 67
6.1.3 Building a Creative Future: A Plan for Culture (2006) ......................................................... 67
6.1.4 Tourism Barrie, Strategic Plan 2008 ................................................................................... 68
6.1.5 Economic Development Strategy for the City of Barrie (2003) ........................................... 68
6.2 Framing the Strategy ................................................................................................................... 69
6.3 Setting the Vision ........................................................................................................................ 75
7 Performance Monitoring and Metrics .................................................................................................. 91
7.1 City Roles and Responsibilities ................................................................................................... 91
7.1.1 Performance Measurement ................................................................................................. 91
7.1.2 The Logic Model of Performance Management .................................................................. 92
7.1.3 Economic Development Metrics .......................................................................................... 93
7.1.4 Performance Measures to Consider ................................................................................... 97
7.1.5 Providing Top-Notch Service .............................................................................................. 99
7.1.6 A Strong Web Presence .................................................................................................... 101
Appendices
I National American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Definitions
II National Occupation Classification (NOC) Definitions
IV Barrie Community Survey Results
V Interview Participants
VI Barrie’s Creative Industries
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Executive Summary
The City of Barrie’s rapid growth and expansion has resulted in it
being recognized as one of the youngest and fastest growing cities in
Canada. Its location and proximity from the Greater Toronto Area has
contributed to its substantial economic growth allowing the
development of a broad and diverse economic base. This strong
growth rate is expected to continue creating significant opportunities
to attract residents, visitors and business investment for the City. This
growth is reinforced by the Province’s strategic vision for the Simcoe
Area where Barrie is expected to become a key urban growth node in
the Greater Toronto Region.
This continued growth coupled with the recent changes in the global economy has fuelled the need for
the City of Barrie to review and revise its economic development strategy. The City’s last economic
development strategy was produced in 2004 and in revisiting this effort, the City has made clear the need
to reflect the effects of the recent changes in the provincial, national and global economic climate. Actions
need to be taken over the short term to respond effectively to these changes, as well as longer term
actions need to be identified to move the city’s economy forward over the next five years.
Key Objectives
The City’s strategic economic development planning process objectives include:
• providing the City of Barrie with guidance and support for efficient resource use and encourage
municipal staff and City Council’s knowledge development on economic development issues;
• identifying strategic directions and objectives that support Barrie’s current economic base
strengths and incorporate new economic growth opportunities;
• recommending a direction and tactics that support increased
inter-municipal collaboration among area municipal economic
development departments;
• identifying action plans for reaching the City’s goals and an
approach for monitoring and reviewing progress on strategy
implementation; and
• recommending a specific approach to ensure the City of
Barrie realizes its downtown revitalization vision.
Barrie - a key urban growth
node. The growth rate will
continue to attract residents,
visitors and business
investment.
Objective of study: Identifying
action plans for reaching the
City’s goals and an approach
for monitoring and reviewing
progress on strategy
implementation
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City of Barrie contracted Millier Dickinson Blais to prepare an action oriented and innovative economic
development strategy to guide the City’s economic development activities. The approach to the creation
of this economic development strategy has included several key components:
1. a background and literature review;
2. an economic base analysis of the City of Barrie;
3. community consultation in the form of focus groups, stakeholder interviews and a community
survey;
4. a SWOT assessment (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) to determine the key
issues impacting the City’s ability to attract and retain business investment;
5. the Identification of key sectors and opportunities for economic growth; and
6. consideration of key performance indicators to ensure effective implementation of the economic
development strategy.
The resulting strategy is both visionary and practical; and more effectively positions the City of Barrie to
respond to emerging business investment and growth opportunities now and in the future.
Summary of Key Findings – Economic Base Analysis
Population
• Barrie’s population has increased 62.2% since 1996. Fuelled by the city’s transportation
linkages, proximity to the GTA and its overall affordability.
Strong labour force: 40% of
Barrie’s population is under 30
years of age. From 2001-2006
the strongest growth was in
the 40-49 age group.
• The high growth rate is expected to continue in
the Simcoe Area: A Strategic Vision for Growth setting a
population target for the city of 210,000 by 2031. The
proposed boundary expansion will ensure the city has
sufficient lands to accommodate growth.
• Barrie is a comparatively young community with
over 40% of the population under the age of 30 and 20.8%
under the age of 14. However from 2001-2006, the
strongest rate of growth was in those aged 40-49.
• The city’s visible minority population grew by 71% between 2001 and 2006 with strong West
Asian community growth; however, visible minorities still only comprise 6.6% of the population.
Income/Labour force/Education
• Barrie has a high proportion of households earning in excess of $50,000 (63.4% compared to the
provincial 58.5% average), with the Financial Post 2009 estimating $84,100 as the average Barrie
household income, expected to climb to $90,400 by 2011.
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• Barrie’s labour force grew by 27.3% between 2001
and 2006 with the highest proportion of its workforce
employed in manufacturing, followed by retail, health
care and social assistance, and construction sectors.
• Labour force is primarily employed in sales and
service occupations (28%); trades, transport and
equipment operators (17%); and business, finance
and administration (16%). Though there has been
substantial growth in occupations in social sciences,
education, government services and religion; trades,
transport + equipment operators; health; sales +
service; and business + finance.
• Educational attainment is high for those with a college
diploma (23.6%) but low for those with university degrees (13.1%). Major fields of study include:
business, management and public administration; architecture, engineering, and related
technologies; health, parks, recreation and fitness.
• 60% of Barrie’s labour force work in Barrie. Of note, 8% commute to Toronto. The remaining
commuting force stay within Simcoe County and/or York Region. Industries with particularly high
out commuting include: manufacturing, public administration, and transportation and
warehousing.
• Much of the city’s recent employment growth has been fuelled by the growth in demand for
services attributed to the strong rate of population growth in the city and surrounding region as
well as the GTA (e.g. construction, health care, retail trade, public administration).
Business Sectors/Growth
• An analysis of Barrie’s business and industry specialization reveals that the city has a
concentration of labour in: construction (LQ 1.26); retail trade (LQ 1.22); public administration (LQ
1.15); transportation and warehousing (LQ 1.13); and accommodation + food services.
• The number of businesses has increased 55.6% between 1998
and 2009, with growth in: retail trade; health care and social
assistance; professional, scientific and technical services;
construction; and other services (personal and business
services). Manufacturing only comprised 8.2% of all
businesses.
• Businesses employing less than 5 people account for 72.8% of
all businesses and were responsible for over 80% of all
business growth between 1998 and 2009.
SMEs: 72.8% of Barrie
businesses employ less than
5 people and account for
80% of business growth
• The knowledge-based economy or creative class are the major source of wealth creation and
economic growth, but Barrie (with 30.1% of these occupations) lags behind Ontario and other
comparator communities.
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• Based on the current performance and competitive advantages of the city, five sectors have been
identified that should form the basis for business investment attraction and expansion efforts:
o Health care – Health care practitioners,
medical and diagnostic laboratories,
associated manufacturing
o Construction – Non-residential and public
infrastructure and utilities construction
o Professional, Technical and Scientific
Services + business services – Legal
services, accounting, financial services,
specialized design, architecture and
engineering
o Transportation + Warehousing together
with Wholesale Trade – Consumer
products, support activities for manufacturing
and health care sectors
o Manufacturing – Technology based and
knowledge intensive manufacturing or niche
manufacturing
• “Green industries” are one of the fastest growing sectors globally. Barrie’s competitive advantage
links to its construction strengths, particularly utility system construction; highway, street and
bridge construction; and foundation, structure and building construction along with strong related
programming and education emerging from Georgian College.
• Tourism, though important to the local economy, does not represent an export opportunity for
Barrie, as it serves primarily a local or regional market. Further product development and
investment is required to create a stronger appeal for visitors and residents alike.
5 sectors have been identified for business attraction and expansion efforts:
• Health care
• Construction
• Professional, technical & scientific services & business services
• Transportation & warehousing & wholesale trade
• Manufacturing – technology based & knowledge intensive
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Summary of Findings – SWOT Assessment
A SWOT Assessment (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) was undertaken to examine
the City of Barrie’s ability to support the attraction, retention and expansion of business and industrial
investment, the city’s capacity to deliver on economic development activities and programming and the
overall direction of the strategy and the sustainability of the community over the longer term.
More than 80 individuals participated in the strategy’s consultation process which included focus group
sessions, and telephone and face to face interviews. Stakeholders included representatives from
government, health and education, arts and culture, business, and the development community. A further
650 participants from across all business sectors participated in an electronic survey hosted by the City,
gathering additional information. The results of the City’s recent BR+E interviews are also reflected in the
SWOT assessment.
The findings associated with this include:
Strengths Weaknesses
• Quality of Life
• Transportation and Connectivity to the
GTA
• Growth of Georgian College
• Expansion of Royal Victoria Hospital
• Revitalization of Allandale Station
• Growing Support for Arts and Culture
• A Focus on Cultural Tourism
• Small Business Support Reflects
Entrepreneurial Culture
• Significant Infrastructure Investment
• Youthful and Growing Population
Opportunities Threats
• Continued Focus on Barrie’s Downtown
• Elevate the Marketing Efforts of the City
• Greater Emphasis on Enhancing Quality
of Place
• Increase Levels of Business Support
• Develop Health Care Sector
• Extend a Welcome to Newcomers
• Expand Post Secondary Education
Opportunities
• Develop Relationship with CFB Borden
• Continued Support of Simcoe Regional
Airport
• Focus on Creative Economy to Drive
Growth
• Secure Office Park Development on
Annexed Lands
• Facilitate on Ongoing Dialogue with
Local Business
• Perceived Lack of Leadership
• Lack of Support for Small Business
• Lack of Regional Collaboration
• High Levels of Commuting
• Lack of a University
• Availability of Serviced Employment
Land
• Annexed Land not immediately available
• Declining Manufacturing Sector
• Traffic Congestion a Deterrent to
Industry
• Reliance on Quality of Life
• Lack of Regional Collaboration
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Current Policy Context
A number of recent City-lead initiatives serve to impact and shape the direction for economic
development activity in the city. These include:
• City of Barrie, 20 year Plan – Foundation for our Future (2003)
• Downtown Commercial Master Plan (2005)
• Building a Creative Future: A Plan for Culture (2006)
• Tourism Barrie, Strategic Plan (2008)
• Lake Simcoe Tourism Area Assessment (2007)
• Economic Development Strategy, City of Barrie (2004)
Given the long term perspective that emerges with much of this work, many findings and direction
provided by these studies remains relevant to the development of the City’s economic development
strategy and are consistent with priorities identified during the project’s consultation process - the
importance of downtown revitalization; the opportunities stronger cultural and tourism base development
and the related downtown impact; and the need to market and brand Barrie better to attract creative and
knowledge-based workers and business.
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Any economic development strategy, to be successful, must focus on exploiting the community’s
competitive strengths. Based on the findings from the economic base analysis, extensive community
consultation process and an understanding of the City of Barrie’s existing policy environment, the
following vision has emerged for the City of Barrie’s Economic Development Strategy.
Setting the Vision
In preparing the City of Barrie’s Economic Development Strategy we have built upon the VISION
established in the City of Barrie’s Foundation for the Future, to be an exciting, caring and progressive
community. The strategies make a strong commitment to the growth and prosperity of Central Ontario’s
leading city and most dynamic waterfront community.
A key consideration was the need to articulate a shifting role for the City of Barrie’s economic
Development. The resulting MANDATE for the City of Barrie Economic Development department is built
around 5 broad goals reflecting the findings of this report, along with input from the general public and
business community.
The GOALS and associated ACTIONS that follow are built around the City assuming a greater economic
development leadership role and a more effective approach in sustainable economic development
practices.
The City of Barrie’s Economic Development Strategy
the vision
Building on the vision of our community established in the City of Barrie’s 20 year Foundation for the
Future, the city’s economic development strategy will further the City’s efforts to be an exciting, caring,
and progressive community. The goals and actions represent a strong commitment to the growth and
prosperity of Central Ontario's leading city and most dynamic waterfront community.
the mandate
For the City of Barrie to consolidate its position as a vibrant and successful community in the Toronto
Centre Region economy, it is essential to manage the vision for sustainable economic growth by pursuing
strategies that build on the talent of our workforce and investments in community infrastructure, while
supporting the continued success of our institutions and business community.
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the goals
The five goals for the City of Barrie’s Economic Development Strategy are:
GOAL 1: Strategic Objectives:
The City of Barrie will establish the
community as a regional Centre of
Excellence for Health and
Wellness by facilitating projects
that advance research &
development, innovation,
investment, and business growth
in the health industries.
GOAL 2: Strategic Objectives:
The City of Barrie will continue to
enable the development of a
vibrant downtown that is
recognized for its quality of place
and liveability and diverse range of
natural and arts and cultural
experiences.
GOAL 3: Strategic Objectives:
The City will be strategic in its
approach to economic growth by
engaging with business,
entrepreneurs, institutions and all
levels of government to ensure an
economy that is globally
competitive, profitable and
sustainable.
To strengthen Barrie’s existing health industries sector
through a greater understanding of the needs and
opportunities within its existing businesses and
institutions.
To expand the health industries sector in Barrie though
the attraction of new businesses and health care
investment to the community.
To position the downtown as a major focal point for
the community and a showcase for the city’s history,
architecture, arts and culture and economic prosperity.
To strengthen Barrie’s key target sectors through
improved understanding of the needs of local
business and industry.
To enhance the educational opportunities in the city,
increase Georgian College’s engagement with
businesses and to better utilize education as a driver
of economic development.
To better leverage the programs and resources
available from regional institutions and all other levels
of government in a way that will enable growth of the
city’s existing businesses and target sectors.
To ensure that the Barrie has sufficient serviced,
quality employment land with which to accommodate
the growth of its key target sectors.
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GOAL 4: Strategic Objectives:
The City of Barrie, with the support
of all levels of government and the
private sector, will become a
regional centre for business
support and innovation that will
drive SME growth and
entrepreneurship.
GOAL 5: Strategic Objectives:
The City of Barrie will develop an
identifiable, dynamic and
consistent marketing message that
will attract new business and
entrepreneurs by promoting
Barrie’s business strengths, the
quality of its workforce and its
exceptionable liveability factors.
To improve access to available business support
services and further enable the development of the
city’s future entrepreneurs.
To better capitalize on the level of innovation in the
community by providing enhanced business support
services to local companies and entrepreneurs and
promoting greater collaboration in priority sectors.
To develop and implement a broad based economic
development marketing and branding strategy for
Barrie that will enhance the city’s overall brand equity.
To more effectively promote the key strengths and
assets of the community as part of a targeted
approach to marketing the city of Barrie.
While these goals and their associated actions set the foundation for achieving Barrie’s long term
community vision, to capitalize on these opportunities requires that the community view the strategy as a
series of inter-connected steps, each with a key role to play in shaping the future of the city. Also
important to recognize is that the strategy implementation does not happen in isolation of other strategic
initiatives undertaken by the City of Barrie or the city’s key community stakeholders.
A more detailed discussion of the actions required to achieve each of these goals is outlined in Section 6
of the report.
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1 Introduction
As more and more municipalities assume greater responsibility for their own economic development, the
need for practitioners to set clear and attainable economic development goals and objectives and to
design programs, activities and partnerships that effectively achieve them, increases in importance. The
impact of fundamental shifts in local and provincial economies, the prominence of the Internet as a
business tool, ongoing fiscal constraints and the complexity of business relationships among local,
national, and international markets makes it necessary to establish community priorities for growth and
investment that ensure a more realistic approach to economic development.
1.1 Purpose of the Report
An Economic Development Strategy for the City 1 of Barrie must be clear on the determined direction for
the community and the manner in which the city and the local community will define economic
development in the future.
Strategic planning of this nature is one of the most important tools
that an economic development organization can use for effective
development. It is a means for establishing and maintaining
essential programs based on economic opportunities, constraints
and the needs of a community.
A cornerstone to developing an economic development strategy is
an understanding of a community’s current competitive advantages
and competitive disadvantages with respect to the attraction and
retention of business investment and people – business base,
labour force, quality of life, etc. – as well as its potential – emerging
industries, presence of entrepreneurs and capacity for innovation.
Millier Dickinson Blais was contracted by the City of Barrie to
prepare an action oriented and innovative economic development
strategy that would guide the economic development activities of the
city. Given the current market volatility and unpredictable nature of
the provincial economy at present, the strategy gives consideration
to both the short term (24 months) and longer term (3-5 years)
opportunities for economic growth in the community.
The overall objectives for the City’s strategic planning process
include:
● ● ●
“Economic Development is
choice; it is willed from within
an economy. Economic
Development occurs when
local leaders choose to identify,
invest in, and develop their
own set of comparative
advantages to enable workers,
firms, farms and industry to
better compete in regional,
national and international
markets.”
Energizing Entrepreneurs,
IEDC Economic Development
Journal, Fall 2008
● ● ●
• providing the City of Barrie with guidance and support for the efficient use of resources and
encourage the development of knowledge by municipal staff and City Council on issues related to
economic development;
• identifying strategic directions and objectives that support the strengths of Barrie’s current
economic base and incorporate new opportunities for economic growth;
• recommending a direction and tactics that support increased inter-municipal collaboration among
area municipal economic development departments;
• identifying action plans for reaching the City’s goals and an approach for monitoring and
reviewing progress on the implementation of the strategy; and
1 City (in upper case) will refer to the corporation of the City of Barrie. city (in lower case) will refer to a geographical description.
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• Recommending a specific approach to ensure the City of Barrie realizes its vision for downtown
revitalization.
1.2 Approach
Time spent in developing an economic development strategy pays significant dividends to a community or
region because it:
1. Outlines the steps to follow. Economic development does not just happen. It requires the
community or region to identify a number of intermediate steps to reach its final goals.
2. Promotes efficient use of scarce resources. A significant amount of money, time, and people will
be required for economic development efforts and these limited resources must not be wasted. The
plan will provide rationale for resource allocation.
3. Improves coordination and collaboration. Many programs, activities, groups, and stakeholders will
be involved in the development effort and it is important that they not overlap or conflict. The plan will
serve as a vehicle for communicating development activities.
4. Builds consensus. The public and the private sector must agree on the major issues involved. This
will lead to support in implementing the plan.
5. Increases public awareness. Without public support, economic development cannot happen. It is
important that the public know how development occurs and how it affects a community or region.
6. Strengthens the community or region’s competitive position. A community with a strategy will
not only be inherently more likely to succeed, it will appear more attractive to potential business or
industry than a community without a plan.
7. Encourages forward-thinking. A strategy will encourage community leaders to think about the
future and to not overlook opportunities for development as they arise.
The approach to the creation of this economic development strategy has included several key
components:
• A Background and Literature Review;
• An Economic Base Analysis of the City of Barrie and surrounding area;
• Community Consultation in the form of focus groups and stakeholder interviews and community
survey;
• A SWOT Assessment (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) to determine the key
issues impacting the city’s ability to attract and retain business investment;
• The Identification of Key Sectors and Opportunities for economic growth; and
• Consideration of key performance indicators to ensure effective implementation of the economic
development strategy.
The result is an economic development strategy that is both visionary and practical; and more effectively
positions the City of Barrie to respond to emerging opportunities as it relates to business investment and
growth, both now and in the future.
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2 Economic Base Analysis
2.1 Strategic Location
The City of Barrie is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, at the northern edge of the Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) within Simcoe County. Its strategic location and proximity to the GTA has resulted in
significant growth pressures as evidenced by the historic rate of population growth in the city and the
continuing high levels of land development activity both in and around the city.
Barrie’s central location has also contributed to its emergence as a regional service centre for the Simcoe
County area and as a gateway for those travelling to cottage country in summer and recreational sports in
the winter. While this has resulted in significant opportunities for retail service operations, it has also
meant substantial investment in local health care, education and government services. While only 50 km.
from the Greater Toronto Area, the city is able to support a high level of self sufficiency, while still being
close enough to the City of Toronto to realize the benefits of Canada’s largest urban centre.
The regional population base, the access to markets afforded by the 400 series of highways (400, 407
and 401), and local rail connections, also helps to position the community for the growth and attraction of
a wide variety of business investment opportunities including manufacturing, corporate offices and small
business entrepreneurs. Being on the doorstep of the GTA also means that Pearson International Airport
in Toronto is less than an hours drive from the city giving local businesses access to international
markets.
The city’s location relative to the Greater Toronto Area also puts more than 6 million people, representing
40 percent of Canada's total buying power within a 100-mile radius of Barrie and 125 million North
American consumers within a day's trucking distance.
Figure 1 – Strategic Location
Source: Google Maps, 2009
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2.1.1 City of Barrie Boundary Adjustment
In response to the growth pressures facing the City of Barrie, the Province of Ontario has enacted
legislation that will enable Barrie to annex 2,293 acres from the Town of Innisfil as of January 1, 2010.
The lands in question are located at the southern end of the community and extend south beyond 10th
line west of the 10th Sideroad, and as far south as Lockhart Road on the east side of the 10th Sideroad. 2
With the approval of the boundary adjustment, the City of Barrie will have sufficient lands to address its
employment and residential growth requirements to 2031 and beyond with no further adjustments
required into neighbouring communities. The City is also expected to incorporate growth plan policies in
their official plan that would enable more intensive development and better equip the city to address
urban growth issues within the city’s new urban boundaries and develop long term strategies that support
the creation of jobs and investment.
Figure 2 – Proposed Boundary Adjustment
Source: http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page6474.aspx
2.2 Population Growth
As noted previously, the City of Barrie has experienced significant growth in recent years. Statistics
Canada reported that between 1996 and 2006, the City of Barrie added approximately 49,239 new
residents to the city, an increase of 62.2% over this ten year period. The majority of this growth occurred
2 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1108903/-barrie-boundary-expansion-details
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etween 1996 and 2001, but a strong growth rate has continued through the current census period,
placing the City of Barrie among the fastest growing municipalities in Canada. 34 FP Markets Canadian
Demographics estimates that Barrie’s population in 2009 is 166,535 persons.
Figure 3 - Historic Population Growth, 1996 to 2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
* County of Simcoe excludes the City of Barrie and City of Orillia
% Change
Year 1996 2001 2006 1996-2001 2001-2006 1996-2006
Barrie 79,191 103,710 128,430 31.0% 23.8% 62.2%
County of
Simcoe*
Toronto-Centred
Region^
222,828 244,219 263,515 9.6% 7.9% 18.3%
6,575,997 7,162,415 7,776,158 8.9% 8.6% 18.3%
Ontario 10,753,573 11,410,046 12,160,282 6.1% 6.6% 13.1%
Canada 28,846,761 30,007,094 31,612,897 4.0% 5.4% 9.6%
The rate of population growth in the city has had both positive and negative impacts on the community.
On the positive side, the increased population has contributed to the development of additional retail and
enabled new business investment, as well as having provided employees that further support the
development of local business and industry. On the negative side, rapid population growth has placed
increased stress on municipal infrastructure and land development opportunities, to the point where the
city is largely built out 5 . The proposed boundary adjustment, together with infrastructure improvements
like the Lakeshore Road realignment, the introduction of GO train service to Union Station in Toronto, and
the upgrades to the water treatment plant will better position the community to accommodate future
growth. More importantly however, the City has undertaken the development of an intensification
strategy, to accommodate growth within the existing boundaries by increasing intensification at strategic
nodes throughout the city.
In June 2009, the Province of Ontario delivered a report entitled Simcoe Area: A Strategic Vision for
Growth, which establishes how growth will occur in Simcoe County based on Provincial Planning
directives. Among other things, the strategy sets a clear outline for the City of Barrie as the area’s largest
urban centre. Where the original growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe set out population
allocation for the City of Barrie to 2011 (157,000) the Simcoe Area strategy sets a firm goal for a 2031
population of 210,000 in the City of Barrie 6 . This represents a further population increase of approximately
57% from a post-census estimate of 133,500 in 2006.
3
Please note: Growth in the city has far outpaced the growth rates for Simcoe County, the Toronto-Centred Region, Ontario, and
Canada
4
Please note: The Toronto Centred Region includes the following Census Divisions: Durham, York, Toronto, Peel, Wellington,
Halton, Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, Simcoe, Peterborough, and Dufferin. Where applicable, the Census division is the Regional
Municipality, County, or Single-tiered Government and contains all municipalities within its geographic borders, regardless of
administrative relationships between government.
5
City of Barrie Intensification Study, 2009
6
Please note: the original population estimate for the City of Barrie to 2031 was in the range of 180,000 residents, based on
Schedule C of the 2006 Places to Grow Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 18 | P age

2.3 Population by Age Structure
A review of the age structure for the City of Barrie from 2001 to 2006 reveals some important
considerations for the city as it moves forward with its strategic planning process. Figure 4 illustrates the
changes in the city’s demographic profile over this period. In 2001, the largest segment of the local
population was within the 35-39 year old range, while the 40-44 year old age group was the largest in
2006. While this could be attributed to the general aging of the population, it may also speak to the city’s
growing capacity to attract families. This is further supported by the fact that the 40-49 year old age
groups represent the fasted growing portion of the population and that 20.8% of the population is below
the age of 14. These facts would suggest a higher local earning potential and greater workforce capacity
and skills levels within the community. The high percentage of young people also represents an
opportunity for the city to retain its young workforce provided advanced educational and employment
opportunities are available.
Figure 4 - Age Structure, City of Barrie, 2001 and 2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
Looking at growth between 2001 and 2006 by age cohort, the fastest growing age groups were above the
age of 40, with each five year segment growing by over 30%, with the exception of those aged 70-79.
Overall, the population aged 50 and over grew approximately 38% from 2001 to 2006, while the
population 60 and over grew by 35%. Conversely, the population under 40 grew by 15%, while the
population under 30 (aided by strong growth in teenagers and young adults aged10-25 years) grew by
19%. In Ontario, the population under 40 years of age stayed relatively stable (declining by 0.1%) from
2001 to 2006, while the population under 30 grew by 3%.
Despite exhibiting a comparatively young population (over 40% of the population is under the age of 30),
the data reveals that the strongest growth is occurring in the older age cohorts. This suggests that Barrie,
in time will experience the same challenges associated with an aging population, as other municipalities
across Canada. This trend could have significant implications for future economic growth in the city,
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 19 | P age

namely in labour force replacement. It also has implications for the range of services and amenities that
will be in demand by the population as it ages.
Figure 5 - Proportion of Total Population by Age Group, 2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population
2.4 Ethnic Diversity
The ethnic diversity of a community can also have wide implications for a city in terms of the cultural and
community services that may be required to support this portion of the local population and the approach
for attracting and sustaining a skilled workforce. Tourism and immigration opportunities are also created
when there is a focus on the cultural aspects of a community (e.g. Sudbury’s July 1 st celebration involves
people and foods from across the different cultural backgrounds in the city). Most importantly, diversity in
a community is also an indicator of tolerance or openness within a community, and the degree to which a
community is viewed as supportive of a wide range of residents.
Statistics Canada gathers data by visible minority status, which is covered by the broad definition of
individuals that are “non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour, other than Aboriginal.” The concept,
definition, and classification originally set out in the Employment Equity Act has been met by some
contention based on its arbitrary classification of individuals into broad categories, obscuring some
differences that may be important within each classification. For example, a Canadian-born individual that
self-identifies as “Chinese” may have a very different set of experiences and cultural values than
someone who immigrated to Canada from China. However, visible minority status remains a relatively
reliable statistical method of quantifying some level of diversity in an area.
Overall, the population by visible minority status in the City of Barrie grew by 71% between 2001 to 2006,
based on strong growth in the West Asian community; individuals that identify as Afghani or Iranian for
example. This growth was well above that for both the Toronto-Centred Region and the Province. The
highest concentrations of individuals by visible minority status in the City of Barrie in 2006 were in the
Black, South Asian, Chinese, and Latin American communities.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 20 | P age

While the rate of growth is significant, visible minorities comprise only 6.6% of the local population
compared to 31% in the Toronto-Centred Region. With future labour force growth in the province
dependent on the immigration of skilled individuals from outside of North America, the City of Barrie
needs to ensure that it is better positioned to attract and retain workers from diverse cultural groups to
ensure future competitiveness and economic growth. This also has implications for the range of services
and support needed in the community to enable a faster, successful integration into the community.
Figure 6 - Population by Visible Minority Status, 2001-2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
Barrie Toronto-Centred Region Ontario
2006 2001 % Change 2006 2001 % Change 2006 2001 % Change
Total 126,830 102,345 23.9% 7,704,190 7,097,330 8.6% 12,028,895 11,285,550 6.6%
Total visible
minority
population
8,525 4,965 71.7% 2,415,425 1,885,365 28.1% 2,745,200 2,153,045 27.5%
Chinese 1,005 710 41.5% 520,435 434,465 19.8% 576,980 481,510 19.8%
South Asian 1,590 985 61.4% 738,090 512,420 44.0% 794,170 554,870 43.1%
Black 1,880 1,185 58.6% 401,635 346,910 15.8% 473,760 411,095 15.2%
Filipino 815 330 147.0% 186,655 143,925 29.7% 203,220 156,515 29.8%
Latin American 1,025 535 91.6% 121,890 90,020 35.4% 147,135 106,835 37.7%
Southeast
Asian
470 225 108.9% 88,625 67,840 30.6% 110,045 86,410 27.4%
Arab 295 255 15.7% 66,700 51,655 29.1% 111,405 88,545 25.8%
West Asian 260 65 300.0% 85,570 58,550 46.1% 96,615 67,105 44.0%
Korean 390 340 14.7% 61,935 48,450 27.8% 69,540 53,955 28.9%
Japanese 210 150 40.0% 23,470 21,020 11.7% 28,080 24,925 12.7%
Visible
minority, n.i.e.
Multiple visible
minority
Not a visible
minority
235 100 135.0% 52,235 72,730 -28.2% 56,845 78,915 -28.0%
350 80 337.5% 68,110 37,395 82.1% 77,400 42,375 82.7%
118,310 97,380 21.5% 5,288,740 5,211,980 1.5% 9,283,690 9,132,500 1.7%
The data hints at a more general trend in Canadian immigration. While Canada’s largest urban areas still
act as a primary landing point for immigrants, recent data presented by the Canadian Federation of
Municipalities suggests that there is a significant trend towards secondary migration to smaller suburban
areas 7 . As well, Statistics Canada has reported that there is increasing evidence that higher proportions
of recent immigrants are choosing to settle in smaller areas outside of traditional destinations (Toronto,
Montreal, and Vancouver) 8 . Figure 7 offers a look at the top origins for the Recent Immigrant population in
the City of Barrie in 2006.
7
Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Quality of Life in Canadian Communities: Immigration & Diversity in Canadian Cities and
Communities, 2008
8
Statistics Canada, 2006 Census: Immigration in Canada: A Portrait of the Foreign-born Population, 2006
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 21 | P age

Figure 7 - Recent Immigrant Population by Country of Origin, 2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population
2.5 Labour Force Profile
Statistics Canada collects labour force data for the Canadian population aged 15 and over, in the 15-24
year old (young adult) population, and the working age population, or those aged 25 or older. Between
2001 and 2006 the labour force in the City of Barrie grew by approximately 27% far out-pacing the
provincial labour force growth rate of approximately 9% over the same time period. As well, the labour
force increased at a faster rate than the population as a whole, suggesting a strong local economy. The
city’s proximity and access to the GTA has made it an attractive, affordable location for individuals and
families looking to locate outside of a large urban area, further contributing to the strength of the local
workforce.
In both 2001 and 2006, the City of Barrie enjoyed a higher employment rate than the province, that is,
there were a higher proportion of people aged 15 and over that were employed, than there was generally
in Ontario. Of note are the consistently higher participation rates in all age groups. This would suggest a
higher disposable income and a greater demand for local services.
In 2006, the city had an unemployment rate of 6.0, below both the province (6.4) and Canada (6.6). While
recent economic news may have contributed to a higher rate, historical trends suggest that Barrie’s
unemployment rate has generally been lower than the provincial average. Based on information available
from FP Markets Canadian Demographics, the 2009 unemployment rate is estimated at 5.6%.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 22 | P age

Figure 8 - City of Barrie, Labour Force Profile, 2001 and 2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
City of Barrie Ontario
2006 2001 2006 2001
Total population 15 years and over by labour
force activity
99,510 78,275 9,819,420 9,048,040
In the labour force 72,030 56,610 6,587,575 6,086,815
Employed 67,700 53,400 6,164,245 5,713,900
Unemployed 4,330 3,205 423,335 372,915
Not in the labour force 27,480 21,665 3,231,840 2,961,220
Participation rate 72.4 72.3 67.1 67.3
Employment rate 68.0 68.2 62.8 63.2
Unemployment rate 6.0 5.7 6.4 6.1
Population 15 to 24 years - Labour force activity 17,645 13,605 1,624,835 1,479,675
In the labour force 12,520 10,220 1,059,355 982,185
Employed 10,725 8,930 905,425 855,000
Unemployed 1,795 1,285 153,935 127,185
Not in the labour force 5,120 3,385 565,475 497,495
Participation rate 71.0 75.1 65.2 66.4
Employment rate 60.8 65.6 55.7 57.8
Unemployment rate 14.3 12.6 14.5 12.9
Population 25 years and over - Labour force
activity
81,865 64,665 8,194,585 7,568,360
In the labour force 59,505 46,390 5,528,220 5,104,635
Employed 56,970 44,470 5,258,825 4,858,900
Unemployed 2,535 1,915 269,395 245,730
Not in the labour force 22,360 18,280 2,666,365 2,463,725
Participation rate 72.7 71.7 67.5 67.4
Employment rate 69.6 68.8 64.2 64.2
Unemployment rate 4.3 4.1 4.9 4.8
2.5.1 Labour Force by Industry
A prime consideration for understanding the strength of a local labour force is the diversity of employment
by industry. In 2006, the City of Barrie’s labour force was comprised of 71,140 persons, up 27.3% from
55,890 persons in 2001. In 2006, the highest proportion of the local labour force is in the manufacturing
sector followed by retail, health care and social assistance sectors and construction.
While the manufacturing sector accounted for 14.5% of the total workforce in 2006, this is down slightly
from 2001. While a concern for the community, this trend is consistent with the performance of the
manufacturing sector in both Ontario and across North America, as we witness the shift from a goods
producing economy to a high value service economy. The loss of manufacturing jobs in the province has
been further accelerated by recent economic events, the high value of the Canadian dollar and the
increase in off-shoring that is occurring across the North American manufacturing industries.
While the Barrie economy is fairly diversified in terms of it labour force concentration, the service sector –
retail trade, accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment, and recreation – represents 22.9% of
the local labour force in the city, down slightly from 2001. This factor may have implications for overall
income levels in the community, as wages in these sectors are typically lower.
Health Care and Social Assistance ranks third to manufacturing and retail trade in terms of the proportion
of total labour force. This can likely be attributed to the presence of Royal Victoria Hospital, and its
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 23 | P age

increasing role as a regional health care centre for the Simcoe-Muskoka region and the concentration of
social service agencies as a result of Barrie being a regional service centre to the County of Simcoe.
Both absolute growth in labour force and relative share of total labour force increased from 2001 to 2006
in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector. With the Phase I expansion of Royal Victoria, as well as
the opening of the Health and Wellness centre at Georgian College it is reasonable to expect that the
local labour force will continue to grow over the short and medium term.
The construction sector also ranks high in terms of overall labour force concentration. While the
proportion of total labour force in the construction industry increased by only 0.4% over the period 2001 to
2006, the absolute increase represents an increase of 1,375 workers.
It should be noted that the labour force by industry data is intended to convey the overall strength and
diversity of the local workforce. In this context, consideration is given to the total workforce by sector,
regardless of whether or not the individual is employed or working within the City of Barrie. Resident
employment (jobs in Barrie) and labour flows – the in and out migration of workers to and from other
regions is discussed in the next section of the report.
Figure 9 - Labour Force by Industry, City of Barrie, 2001 and 2006
2006 % 2001 %
Labour Force by NAICS Industry* 71,145 100% 55,890 100%
11 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 260 0.4% 160 0.3%
21 Mining and oil and gas extraction 80 0.1% 40 0.1%
22 Utilities 570 0.8% 295 0.5%
23 Construction 5,320 7.5% 3,945 7.1%
31-33 Manufacturing 10,315 14.5% 9,205 16.5%
41 Wholesale trade 3,705 5.2% 3,155 5.6%
44-45 Retail trade 9,655 13.6% 7,945 14.2%
48-49 Transportation and warehousing 3,810 5.4% 2,715 4.9%
51 Information and cultural industries 1,595 2.2% 1,405 2.5%
52 Finance and insurance 2,145 3.0% 1,725 3.1%
53 Real estate and rental and leasing 1,465 2.1% 1,115 2.0%
54 Professional, scientific and technical services 3,210 4.5% 2,845 5.1%
55 Management of companies and enterprises 70 0.1% 10 0.0%
56 Administrative and support, waste management and remediation
services
3,345 4.7% 2,630 4.7%
61 Educational services 4,735 6.7% 3,175 5.7%
62 Health care and social assistance 6,550 9.2% 4,950 8.9%
71 Arts, entertainment and recreation 1,520 2.1% 1,160 2.1%
72 Accommodation and food services 5,135 7.2% 4,155 7.4%
81 Other services (except public administration) 3,235 4.5% 2,375 4.2%
91 Public administration 4,425 6.2% 2,880 5.2%
* Total Labour force minus the approximately 885 individuals that fell within the “Industry Not Applicable” NAICS classification, or
unemployed persons 15 years and over who have never worked for pay or in self-employment or who had last worked prior to
January 1, 2005, only
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Canadian Population
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 24 | P age

2.5.2 Labour Force Flow Pattern
While the size and growth of the local labour force is an asset to the community or a business looking to
locate in Barrie, consideration must also be given to the degree to which a community sees an outflow or
inflow of its labour force, as this may represent an opportunity to capture or retain employment in the
community. At present the highest levels of net export of labour in the city are occurring in the
manufacturing (3,370 workers), construction (2,980 workers), public administration (2,400 workers) and
transportation and warehousing sectors (1,710 workers). When consideration is given to the total number
of jobs in Barrie relative to the out flow of labour, results confirm that Barrie is a net exporter of
employment (12,650 workers).
In the manufacturing sector the highest export of labour was in the motor vehicle manufacturing subsector,
where exported labour accounted for 1,720 employees, or 17.4% of the employed manufacturing
labour force. This is largely attributed to the presence of Honda in Alliston and the significant number of
auto component manufacturers in the region.
In the construction sector, trades in the residential building construction subsector accounted for the
highest proportions of exported labour. In this case 1,020 people or 20.2% of the employed local labour
force works outside Barrie. This trend can be attributed to the strong residential housing market in the
GTA, Simcoe County and the City of Barrie. While growth in the construction trades is likely to continue,
in general, the market for this type of employment is very regionally based.
In the public administration sector the highest export of labour was in the provincial and federal public
administration, with much of the federal public administration employment provided by CFB Borden.
In transportation and warehousing, the highest export of labour was in the freight trucking subsector, with
545 individuals or 14.7% of the employed local labour force in the transportation and warehousing sector
working outside of Barrie. These results can be attributed to the presence of a strong logistics sector in
the GTA, particularly the City of Vaughan and the proximity of Pearson International Airport.
The nature of these findings suggests that it will be difficult for the City of Barrie to capture this labour
force through the attraction of similar business investment or jobs within the local market.
However, on a sectoral basis, there are some industries that did import labour from the surrounding
areas. The highest level of labour force import was in the retail sector followed by health care and social
assistance sector and educational services. Health care in particular represents one of the fastest
growing industry sectors in the country and should factor significantly in the city’s investment and
workforce attraction efforts.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 25 | P age

Figure 10 - Labour Flow Analysis, Labour Force 15 Years and Over by Industry, City of Barrie, 2006
Industry (NAICS) Labour Force* Jobs in Barrie
Net Import (+) or
Export (-)
Total 67,685 55,035 -12,650
11 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 250 90 -160
21 Mining and oil and gas extraction 70 15 -55
22 Utilities 550 625 75
23 Construction 5,055 2,075 -2,980
31-33 Manufacturing 9,890 6,520 -3,370
41 Wholesale trade 3,545 2,760 -785
44-45 Retail trade 9,095 9,730 635
48-49 Transportation and warehousing 3,705 1,995 -1,710
51 Information and cultural industries 1,525 1,370 -155
52 Finance and insurance 2,070 1,920 -150
53 Real estate and rental and leasing 1,435 1,435 0
54 Professional, scientific and technical services 3,080 2,715 -365
55 Management of companies and enterprises 70 25 -45
56 Administrative and support, waste management and
remediation services
3,045 2,005 -1,040
61 Educational services 4,565 4,680 115
62 Health care and social assistance 6,300 6,810 510
71 Arts, entertainment and recreation 1,435 640 -795
72 Accommodation and food services 4,635 4,620 -15
81 Other services (except public administration) 3,045 3,085 40
91 Public administration 4,320 1,920 -2,400
* Labour force data by industry from REDDI is concerning ‘employed’ labour force, where labour force by industry from Statistics
Canada census data is concerning both employed workers and unemployed workers who were employed in the industry after
January 1, 2005
Source: Statistics Canada: REDDI, 2001 and 2006
2.5.3 Labour Force by Place of Work
Having considered the range of employment that is exported or leaving Barrie daily, a further
consideration is where these employees are travelling for employment. The table below illustrates the
place of work data by census sub-division, for the employed labour force 15 years and older by usual
place of work. The data suggests that 60% of the total employed labour force that resides in the City of
Barrie works in the city. Only 8% of the resident labour force commutes to Toronto for work, followed by
New Tecumseth (4.9%) and Vaughan (2.9%). Overall, 20.8% of the local employed workforce commutes
to destinations inside the Greater Toronto Area.
The 2008 Life on the GO! Commuter study done by Georgian College was undertaken in late winter
2008, as a way to gain insight into the motivations that Barrie residents have for both using GO services,
as well as commuting in general. While this is a comparatively small sample of specific (GO Train)
commuters, it does give a general indication of motivations. This is particularly relevant given the fact that
32% of the sample was commuting to potentially high-wage jobs in the Finance, Business, and Insurance
industry, as well as the sample having a very high level of education (74% had some post secondary
education). Perhaps most notable in the study was the question about motivations for working outside of
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 26 | P age

Barrie, with the top three answers being lack of jobs in Barrie (65%), opportunities to earn higher wages
(69%), and long-term job opportunities (50%) 9 .
As discussed earlier commuting data can provide insight into the strength of the local economy and offer
an indication as to whether there is an opportunity to retain some of the exported labour force. For
example, the high levels of exported labour in transportation equipment manufacturing, combined with the
significant commuting flow towards New Tecumseth suggests that much of this workforce is probably
employed by Honda or its subsidiaries. Given the fact that new investments in automotive manufacturing
are increasingly difficult to attract, it is unlikely that the same opportunities will be available in Barrie for
these workers over the short or medium term, if ever. Though the labour force is specialized in
transportation equipment manufacturing, this may not necessarily translate to a strength that can be built
upon to attract investment.
Figure 11 - Commuting Flows, Census Subdivisions, 2006
Place of Residence / Place of Work Total
% of Commuting
Workforce
Barrie / Barrie 33,310 60.1%
Barrie / Toronto 4,425 8.0%
Barrie / New Tecumseth 2,720 4.9%
Barrie / Vaughan 1,635 2.9%
Barrie / Mississauga 1,470 2.7%
Barrie / Newmarket 1,420 2.6%
Barrie / Innisfil 1,390 2.5%
Barrie / Essa 1,315 2.4%
Barrie / Orillia 1,045 1.9%
Barrie / Springwater 865 1.6%
Barrie / Bradford West Gwillimbury 830 1.5%
Barrie / Brampton 610 1.1%
Barrie / Oro-Medonte 580 1.0%
Barrie / Markham 495 0.9%
Barrie / Aurora 450 0.8%
Barrie / Richmond Hill 435 0.8%
Barrie / Mnjikaning First Nation 32 (Rama First Nation 32) 295 0.5%
Barrie / King 240 0.4%
Barrie / Caledon 195 0.4%
Barrie / Midland 165 0.3%
Barrie / Penetanguishene (T) 165 0.3%
Barrie / East Gwillimbury 140 0.3%
Barrie / Collingwood 115 0.2%
Barrie / Guelph 75 0.1%
Barrie / Hamilton 65 0.1%
Barrie / Other Municipalities 980 1.8%
Total* 55,430 100.0%
* Statistics Canada suppresses commuting data when the commuting flow is below 20 individuals, so Census subdivisions that
receive fewer than 20 residents from Barrie are not included.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population
9 Georgian College, Life on the GO! 2008 Commuter Survey
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 27 | P age

Given the limited (or comparatively fewer) opportunities for employment in the rural areas surrounding the
city, it is reasonable that much of the workforce in surrounding areas is also working outside of their place
of residence. For example, 3,960 employees from Springwater Township commute to Barrie for work,
while 2,940 of the employed labour force in Innisfil commutes to Barrie. A considerable number of
workers also commute into Barrie from locations around Simcoe County. While the city continues to
export labour from the city it also benefits from a regional labour pool to offset losses in some industry
sectors. This is significant as it demonstrates to a potential investor or business that the city has a
regional draw that extends to the GTA and should be a factor in how the city promotes and markets itself.
2.5.4 Labour Force by Occupation
In order to get a more complete picture of the labour force capabilities for a particular area, it is necessary
to examine the labour force by occupation, that is, by the core activities associated with an individual’s
employment. The table below illustrates the concentration of the labour force by occupation 10 for 2001
and 2006 for the City of Barrie.
Occupations with the highest labour force concentrations in 2006 included:
• Sales and Service (27.9%)
• Trades, Transport, and Equipment Operators (16.9%)
• Business, Finance, and Administration (16.2%)
• Management (10.2%)
However, when looking at growth of occupations over the period of 2001 to 2006, a different pattern
emerges. While the largest share of occupations in the city is attributed to sales/service and
trades/transportation classifications, the highest percentage growth belongs to occupations unique to
primary industry – farming, mining and forestry (64% growth since 2001). However, the size of this sector
and the small absolute growth minimizes the importance of this strong growth to the city’s economy.
Additional occupations that exhibited significant growth include:
• Social Science, Education, Government Service and Religion (47.2%)
• Trades, Transport, and Equipment Operators (38.4%)
• Health (30.3%)
• Sales and Service (27.1%)
• Arts, Culture, Recreation, and Sport (26.1%)
These results are consistent with the pattern of employment by industry discussed earlier, where Barrie
demonstrated a growing labour force employed in professional and service industries and occupations,
rather than goods producing industries or occupations. Generally speaking, the city has started to attract
a labour pool more consistent with the shifting economy.
10 Statistics Canada: employment by National Occupation Classification from 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 28 | P age

Figure 12 - Labour Force by Occupation, 2001 and 2006
Barrie Ontario
Occupation (NOC-S) 2006 2001 % Change 2006 2001 % Change
All occupations* 71,145 55,885 27.3% 6,473,735 5,992,765 8.0%
Management 7,235 6,040 19.8% 666,485 685,390 -2.8%
Business, finance and administration 11,540 9,385 23.0% 1,204,490 1,097,835 9.7%
Natural and applied sciences 3,575 2,955 21.0% 451,930 422,510 7.0%
Health 3,615 2,775 30.3% 340,685 286,310 19.0%
Social science, education,
government service and religion
* Labour Force 15 years and older minus the approximately 885 individuals within the “Occupation Not Applicable” Category, or
Unemployed persons 15 years and older who have never worked for pay or in self-employment or who had last worked prior to
January 1, 2005, only
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2001 Census of Population
5,725 3,890 47.2% 546,390 455,825 19.9%
Art, culture, recreation and sport 1,645 1,305 26.1% 200,980 171,840 17.0%
Sales and service 19,815 15,590 27.1% 1,522,820 1,371,245 11.1%
Trades, transport and equipment
operators
Occupations unique to primary
industry
Occupations unique to processing,
manufacturing and utilities
12,015 8,675 38.5% 911,250 845,125 7.8%
705 430 64.0% 165,085 164,360 0.4%
5,270 4,840 8.9% 463,610 492,320 -5.8%
2.6 Educational Attainment
The level of educational attainment in a municipality can be used as a general indicator of the capacity for
innovation of the local population. Generally put, educational attainment is often seen as a contributing
factor to the quality of the “human capital” of a municipality, or the accumulation of skills and talents which
manifests itself in the educated and skilled workforce of the region (Mathur, 1999).
In 2006, approximately 49% of the population over 15 years of age had attained some form of postsecondary
education, slightly lower than the 51% that have achieved this level across the province. The
population in Barrie was most heavily weighted towards college education, with almost 24% of the
population attaining a college education. This was above the provincial attainment rate of 18.4%. A strong
community asset in this regard is the presence of the main campus of Georgian College, suggesting that
Barrie has been able to retain some of the graduates from this institution. The results of the occupational
profile also suggest that there are a considerable number of people working in skilled trades and health
care which would not necessarily require a university education.
With the planned expansion of both college and university programming at the Barrie campus, greater
consideration should be given to ways to retain its college graduates in order to improve the city’s labour
force credentials. This is particularly important given Ontario and the GTA’s shift towards a more
technology based, higher value economy.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 29 | P age

Figure 13 - Educational Profile, City of Barrie and Ontario, 2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population
Of the approximately 40,310 residents between the ages of 25 and 64 that obtained post secondary
education, the highest concentration by major field of study were in the Business, management, and
public administration; Architecture, engineering, and related technologies, and Health, parks, recreation
and fitness fields. Overall, these three major fields account for over half (57%) of the individuals with postsecondary
credentials in the City of Barrie. The high concentration of individuals in business and
management may represent an opportunity to foster shared experiences between more senior business
persons and small business and entrepreneurs in the community.
Figure 14 - Post-secondary Education Profile, by Major Field of Study, City of Barrie, 2006
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population
Barrie Ontario
Population % Population %
Total population 15 years and over 99,510 100.0% 9,819,420 100.0%
No certificate, diploma, or degree 21,675 21.8% 2,183,630 22.2%
High school certificate or equivalent 29,280 29.4% 2,628,565 26.8%
Post-secondary education 48,550 48.8% 5,007,220 51.0%
Apprenticeship or trades certificate or
diploma
College, CEGEP or other non-university
certificate or diploma
University certificate or diploma below the
bachelor level
8,840 8.9% 785,120 8.0%
23,430 23.6% 1,804,775 18.4%
3,295 3.3% 405,265 4.1%
University certificate, diploma, or degree 12,990 13.1% 2,012,055 20.5%
Major Field of Study Population
Education 2,925
Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies 1,695
Humanities 1,540
Social and behavioural sciences and law 4,715
Business, management and public administration 8,415
Physical and life sciences and technologies 800
Mathematics, computer and information sciences 1,640
Architecture, engineering, and related technologies 8,215
Agriculture, natural resources and conservation 710
Health, parks, recreation and fitness 6,190
Personal, protective and transportation services 3,440
2.7 Income Levels
Average Income rates provide important information about the wealth generated or retained by the local
population. High income rates suggest a high level of disposable income, which in turn could mean that
there is a strong local market for business, especially in the retail, and personal service sector. Figure 15
below identifies the 2000 and 2005 personal income rates for the City of Barrie and Ontario. These
results suggest that there has been a slight decrease in the number of individuals with an income below
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 30 | P age

$40,000 and an increase in the number of individuals making $60,000 or over. In the provincial context,
the City of Barrie demonstrated a higher proportion of individuals in income brackets over $50,000 than
the province in 2005, in addition to a higher median income.
Figure 15 - Proportion of Total Population with Personal Income, 2000 and 2005
Personal Income,
Population 15 years and
Over
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
Barrie exhibits similar characteristics in an assessment of household income. In both 2000 and 2005,
Barrie had higher median and average household income than Ontario. While the proportion of highincome
earning households was lower than the province, Barrie maintained higher proportions of
households within the $50,000 to $99,999 income brackets than the province, which translates to a
smaller proportion of households in lower income brackets. Overall, the median household income
climbed 14%, while the average household income climbed 16%. This outpaced the growth of the median
household income in the province (13%), but was slightly below the growth of the average household
income (17%).
The Financial Post Markets, Canadian Demographics 2009 estimates for the City of Barrie place average
household income at $84,100 in 2009, projecting it to climb to $90,400 (up 7.5%) by 2011 11 . As well,
Financial Post Markets suggests that there are 27% of the households earning in excess of $100,000 12 .
11
Financial Post Markets, Canadian Demographics, 2009
12
ibid
2005 2000
Barrie Ontario Barrie Ontario
Under $10,000 19.7% 20.5% 21.4% 22.5%
$10,000 to $19,999 17.9% 19.0% 18.9% 19.9%
$20,000 to $29,999 14.0% 13.9% 15.6% 14.9%
$30,000 to $39,999 12.7% 12.6% 14.7% 13.5%
$40,000 to $49,999 10.6% 9.7% 10.0% 9.5%
$50,000 to $59,999 7.9% 7.0% 7.4% 6.5%
$60,000 and over 17.3% 17.3% 12.0% 13.1%
Median Income ($) $28,785.00 $ 27,258.00 $ 25,499.00 $24,816.00
Average Income ($) $35,737.00 $ 38,099.00 $ 31,054.00 $32,865.00
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 31 | P age

Figure 16 - Proportion of Households by Income, 2000 and 2005
Household Income 2005 2000
Barrie Ontario Barrie Ontario
Under $10,000 3.4% 4.4% 3.9% 5.2%
$10,000 to $19,999 7.2% 8.8% 9.4% 10.7%
$20,000 to $29,999 7.5% 9.0% 9.8% 10.3%
$30,000 to $39,999 9.6% 9.8% 10.0% 10.4%
$40,000 to $49,999 8.8% 9.2% 10.1% 9.9%
$50,000 to $59,999 9.1% 8.5% 9.9% 9.0%
$60,000 to $69,999 8.8% 7.8% 9.7% 8.5%
$70,000 to $79,999 8.0% 7.1% 8.5% 7.2%
$80,000 to $89,999 7.5% 6.2% 7.1% 6.0%
$90,000 to $99,999 7.0% 5.2% 5.8% 4.9%
$100,000 and over 23.0% 24.0% 15.7% 18.1%
Median Household Income ($) $ 64,832 $ 60,455 $ 56,696 $ 53,626
Average Household Income ($) $ 73,134 $ 77,967 $ 63,151 $ 66,836
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
The discussion that follows provides a detailed analysis and assessment of Barrie’s labour force and
business concentrations.
2.8 Summary of Findings
The City of Barrie has experienced tremendous population growth in recent years which has translated
into strong employment growth across a broad range of industry sectors and a significant rise in the
number of small business start-ups. While the city is a significant exporter of employment to other
jurisdictions in south central Ontario and the GTA, other significant opportunities for growth and business
investment have emerged.
Based on the foregoing high level review of the Barrie economy including its recent labour force
performance, the following findings are considered relevant to the development of a City of Barrie
Economic Development Strategy.
• The current population of the city of Barrie has increased 62.2% since 1996, with the highest rate
of growth occurring between 1996 and 2001. Much of this growth is fuelled by the city’s
transportation linkages and proximity to the GTA and its overall affordability when compared to
jurisdictions further to the south.
• The high rate of growth is expected to continue with the population of the City of Barrie reaching
210,000 by 2031, according to the provinces’ report Simcoe Area: A Strategic Vision for Growth.
With the recent boundary expansion announcement the city will have sufficient lands to
accommodate the resulting population and employment growth requirements.
• The city of Barrie is a comparatively young community with over 40% of the population under the
age of 30 and 20.8% under the age of 14. However the strongest rate of growth is occurring in
the older age cohorts with those aged 40-49 showing the strongest rate of growth from 2001-
2006. The concentration of population under 30 years of age however, represents a significant
opportunity for the city to retain a young workforce – where other communities are dealing with an
aging workforce - provided advanced education and employment opportunities are available.
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• The population by visible minority status in the city of Barrie grew by 71% between 2001 and
2006 based on strong growth from the West Asian community, well above the performance of
either the Toronto-Centred Region or the province as a whole. However, visible minorities only
comprise 6.6% of the local population compared to 31% in the Toronto-Centred Region. With
future labour force growth in the province dependent on the attraction and immigration of skilled
workers from outside of North America, the city of Barrie needs to ensure that it is better
positioned to attract and retain workers from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds to ensure its
future competitiveness and economic growth particularly as it relates to the city’s key growth
sectors.
• The city of Barrie has a higher proportion of households earning in excess of $50,000 when
compared to the province as a whole, 63.4% and 58.8 % respectively. The Financial Post
Markets, Canadian Demographics 2009 estimates that the 2009 average household income in
Barrie is $84,100 and is expected to climb to $90,400 by 2011. It also reports that 27% of
households are earning in excess of $100,000 compared to 23% in the 2006 census. Higher
disposable incomes may translate into a demand for a greater range of retail, dining and
entertainment and recreation experiences in the city.
• Consistent with its strong population growth the city of Barrie has seen its labour force grow by
27.3% from 2001 and 2006 with the highest proportion of its workforce employed in
manufacturing, followed by retail, health care and social assistance and construction sectors.
• While the local economy is fairly diversified, the retail service and accommodation and food
service and arts, entertainment and recreation services account for 22.9% of the city’s workforce.
This fact may have implications for overall income levels, as wages in these sectors are typically
lower.
• While 60% of Barrie residents live and work in Barrie, the commuting patterns of Barrie residents
demonstrates the continuing importance and interdependence of the broader regional economy
as it relates to economic growth as well as employment and investment opportunities.
• At the present time the highest levels of net export of labour are occurring in the manufacturing
(3,370 jobs), public administration (2,400 jobs), and transportation and warehousing (1,710 jobs).
In total the city exports (12,650 employees). The nature of this employment suggests that it will
be difficult for the city to capture this workforce through the attraction of similar business
investment in the local market.
• Occupational information for the city of Barrie suggests a concentration of skills in sales and
service occupations, trades, transport and equipment operators, business finance and
administration and management. Occupations showing the highest rate of growth include social
science, education, government service and religion, trades, transport and equipment operators,
health, sales and service and arts culture, recreation and sport. These results are consistent with
an overall trend in the province towards an economy dominated by service producing industries
and occupations rather than goods producing industries.
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3 Industry Sector Analysis
3.1 Location Quotients Analysis
In order to determine the level and degree of business and industrial specialization, thus the economic
diversity that may be developing in the City of Barrie, location quotients (LQs) have been calculated to
identify and measure the concentration of industry/business activity by major sector and/or sub-sectors.
Location Quotients are a commonly used tool in local/regional economic analysis. They assess the
concentration of economic activities within a smaller area relative to the overarching region in which it
resides. For the purposes of this study we have calculated location quotients that compare the City of
Barrie’s industry sector employment concentration relative to the province of Ontario. As well, location
quotients have been calculated for the County of Simcoe Census Division (excluding Barrie) and the
Toronto-Centred Region, as defined in section 2.2 of the report.
A location quotient greater than 1.0 for a given sector indicates a local concentration of economic activity
as compared to the overarching region (either Ontario or any other region) and may be an indication of
competitive advantage with respect to the attraction of that industry sector. Location Quotients equal to
1.0 for a given sector suggest that the study area has the same concentration of economic activity as the
overarching region. Finally, a location quotient of less than 1.0 suggests that the community does not
have a strong competitive advantage in that sector.
In theory, an industrial or business concentration that is greater than the overarching regional average
may also represent the export base of the participating municipality (both in terms of products or
services). Businesses that make up this export base may have chosen to locate in the community due to
certain local or regional competitive advantages. These competitive advantages can be used to attract
additional investment, in the same or complimentary industries.
The industry concentration in the City of Barrie relative to Ontario reveals the highest concentration of
labour in the following sectors in 2006:
• Construction (LQ 1.26)
• Retail Trade (LQ 1.22)
• Public Administration (LQ 1.15)
• Transportation and Warehousing (LQ 1.13)
• Accommodation and Food Services (LQ 1.13)
With the exception of the construction sector, no other major industry sector exhibit LQs within the ‘high’
range, with values in excess of 1.25.
At the subsector level, much of the city’s construction labour is concentrated in residential building
construction and specialty trades contracting. This is likely based on a strong residential construction
sector in Simcoe County and the northern Greater Toronto Area since the early part of the decade.
More interesting however, is the significant labour force concentration in utility system construction (LQ
2.12), highway, street and bridge construction (LQ 1.01) and foundation, structure and building
construction (1.78). The specialized nature of this work may suggest that this labour force and the
associated businesses are exporting their services well beyond the Barrie area.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 34 | P age

It should be further noted that retail, public administration and accommodation and food services do not
represent an export opportunity for the city. LQ values in or approaching the ‘high’ range in those sectors
may not necessarily translate into a labour or industry specialization that could potentially yield economic
development or investment attraction opportunities. The high LQ for accommodation and food services
may be indicative of Barrie’s tourism draw. It may also suggest an oversupply of these types of
businesses.
While the results for manufacturing do not suggest a strong competitive advantage, the performance is
quite different at the subsector level. When consideration is given to the subsectors employing more than
100 people, textile product manufacturing (LQ 2.74), food and beverage manufacturing (LQ 1.05), paper
manufacturing (LQ 1.33), fabricated metal manufacturing (LQ .98), machinery manufacturing (LQ 1.33),
plastics manufacturing (LQ 1.56) and transportation equipment manufacturing (1.84) demonstrate the
strength and diversity within Barrie’s manufacturing base. However, given the general trend toward a
declining workforce and more niche based manufacturing activity these subsectors should be viewed as
strong retention targets for the city in the short to medium term.
Overall the Location Quotient analysis suggests that the City of Barrie has a somewhat localized
economy – with the majority of sectors occupying an ‘average’ concentration relative to the province. The
results of the labour flow analysis also support the suggestion that much of the economic activity in the
city is being driven by local business and industry demand, rather than external demand which would
show noticeable evidence of exporting industries (High LQs, labour imports).
Figure 17 - Location Quotients for 2-Digit NAICS Industries, City of Barrie, 2001-2006
Industry (NAICS) 2006 Classification 2001 Classification
23 Construction 1.26 High 1.27 High
44-45 Retail Trade 1.22 Average 1.27 High
91 Public Administration 1.15 Average 1.00 Average
48-49 Transportation and Warehousing 1.13 Average 1.04 Average
72 Accommodation and Food Services 1.13 Average 1.17 Average
41 Wholesale Trade 1.10 Average 1.21 Average
53 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 1.06 Average 1.10 Average
31-33 Manufacturing 1.04 Average 1.00 Average
22 Utilities 1.03 Average 0.68 Low
61 Educational Services 1.00 Average 0.92 Average
71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 0.98 Average 1.02 Average
62 Health Care and Social Assistance 0.98 Average 1.00 Average
81 Other Services (Except Public Administration) 0.97 Average 0.93 Average
56 Administrative and Support, Waste Management and
Remediation Services
0.97 Average 1.10 Average
51 Information and Cultural Industries 0.84 Average 0.88 Average
55 Management of Companies and Enterprises 0.70 Low 0.14 Low
54 Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 0.62 Low 0.71 Low
52 Finance and Insurance 0.62 Low 0.63 Low
21 Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction 0.27 Low 0.20 Low
11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 0.21 Low 0.14 Low
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
Figures 18 and 19 provide further understanding of the performance of the County of Simcoe (excluding
Barrie but including Orillia) and the Toronto-Centred Region relative to the Province. These results
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 35 | P age

suggest a consistent performance of these five sectors at the County level, although the County has a
higher ratio of employment in construction services than Barrie. In terms of the Toronto Central Region,
results suggest that the regional workforce is more heavily concentrated in high value employment such
as finance, insurance, information and cultural industries and professional, scientific and technical
services.
The next section will build on this analysis with consideration of the pattern of business development that
has occurred in the city over the last 10 years.
Figure 18 - Location Quotients for 2-Digit NAICS Industries, County of Simcoe (CD)*, 2001-2006
Industry (NAICS) 2006 Classification 2001 Classification
71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 1.68 High 1.81 High
23 Construction 1.52 High 1.48 High
11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 1.30 High 1.46 High
72 Accommodation and Food Services 1.13 Average 1.04 Average
91 Public Administration 1.11 Average 1.16 Average
31-33 Manufacturing 1.10 Average 1.11 Average
44-45 Retail Trade 1.05 Average 1.04 Average
62 Health Care and Social Assistance 0.98 Average 1.03 Average
81 Other Services (Except Public Administration) 0.97 Average 1.02 Average
53 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 0.97 Average 0.90 Average
56 Administrative and Support, Waste Management and
Remediation Services
0.96 Average 0.94 Average
48-49 Transportation and Warehousing 0.94 Average 1.07 Average
22 Utilities 0.94 Average 0.86 Average
41 Wholesale Trade 0.94 Average 0.92 Average
61 Educational Services 0.92 Average 0.82 Average
54 Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 0.61 Low 0.56 Low
21 Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction 0.61 Low 0.54 Low
51 Information and Cultural Industries 0.59 Low 0.57 Low
55 Management of Companies and Enterprises 0.59 Low 0.30 Low
52 Finance and Insurance 0.46 Low 0.47 Low
* County of Simcoe Census Division excluding the City of Barrie, but including the City of Orillia
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 36 | P age

Figure 19 - Location Quotients for 2-Digit NAICS Industries, Toronto-Centred Region*, 2001-2006
Industry (NAICS) 2006 Classification 2001 Classification
55 Management of Companies and Enterprises 1.30 High 1.36 High
52 Finance and Insurance 1.23 Average 1.23 Average
41 Wholesale Trade 1.18 Average 1.19 Average
51 Information and Cultural Industries 1.17 Average 1.16 Average
54 Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 1.13 Average 1.14 Average
53 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 1.11 Average 1.11 Average
31-33 Manufacturing 1.05 Average 1.04 Average
56 Administrative and Support, Waste Management and
Remediation Services
1.03 Average 1.05 Average
48-49 Transportation and Warehousing 1.02 Average 1.01 Average
71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 1.00 Average 1.00 Average
61 Educational Services 0.99 Average 0.98 Average
81 Other Services (Except Public Administration) 0.99 Average 0.98 Average
44-45 Retail Trade 0.98 Average 0.99 Average
23 Construction 0.98 Average 0.96 Average
72 Accommodation and Food Services 0.96 Average 0.94 Average
62 Health Care and Social Assistance 0.91 Average 0.91 Average
22 Utilities 0.90 Average 0.93 Average
91 Public Administration 0.69 Low 0.70 Low
11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 0.49 Low 0.46 Low
21 Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction 0.44 Low 0.36 Low
* See Section 2.2 for definition of the Toronto-Centred Region
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
3.2 Business Patterns Assessment
Statistics Canada’s Canadian Business Patterns Data provides a record of business establishments by
industry and size. Sources of information are updates from the Statistics Canada survey program and the
Business Number registration source collected from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The business
data collected for the City of Barrie includes all local business which meets at least one of the three
following criteria:
• Have an employee workforce for which they submit payroll remittances to CRA; or
• Have a minimum of $30,000 in annual sales revenue; or
• Are incorporated under a federal or provincial act and have filed a federal corporate income tax
form within the past three years.
The Canadian Business Patterns Data records business counts by “Total”, “Indeterminate” and “Subtotal”
categories. The establishments in the “Indeterminate” category include the self-employed (i.e. those who
do not maintain an employee payroll, but may have a workforce consisting of contracted workers, family
members or business owners). It should be noted that the Canadian Business patterns Data uses CRA
as a primary resource in establishments counts; therefore, businesses without a Business Number or
indicating annual sales less than $30,000 are not included. The population of these small, unincorporated
businesses is thought to be in the range of 600,000 in all of Canada. 13
13 It should also be noted that expanded abilities to identify ‘inactive’ business units since June 2008 have resulted in a greater
number of establishments removed from June to December 2008. This may also affect the establishment counts from 1998 to 2008
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 37 | P age

3.2.1 Key Business Characteristics
A detailed review of the business patterns data for the period between 1998 and 2008 for the City of
Barrie provides an understanding of the growth or decline of businesses in Barrie over that 10 year period
and the key characteristics that define Barrie’s business community. When combined with the broader
industry analysis, the Business Patterns information will assist in refining sector opportunities for the City
of Barrie.
Understanding the trends in business growth in the community provides valuable insight into the shape
that future growth and investment in the city might take. As well, it
provides an indication of where the priorities of the city should lie,
especially with regards to program development and delivery, and
strategic planning.
Figure 20 provides an indication of the growth in business
establishments by two digit NAICS codes from 1998 to 2008. Those
categories that have experienced the highest rate of growth
(exclusive of the self-employed) include:
• Educational Services (139.1% increase)
• Construction (112.1% increase)
• Public Administration (100.0% increase)
• Mining and Oil and gas Extraction (100.0% increase)
• Information and Cultural Industries (89.5% increase)
• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (79.6%
increase)
In terms of concentration, the following sectors exhibit the highest
proportion of business establishments in the City of Barrie in
December 2008:
• Retail Trade (15.5% of businesses)
• Health Care and Social Assistance (12.2% of business)
• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (11.3%
of businesses)
• Construction (10.5% of businesses)
• Other Services (excluding Public Administration) (9.9%)
● ● ●
“In the broadest, mostcomprehensive
survey yet of how
occupation affects happiness,
business owners outrank 10 other
occupational groups in overall
well-being, based on the landmark
survey of 100,826 working adults
set for release today.
Defined as self-employed store or
factory owners, plumbers and so
on, business owners surpassed 10
other occupational groups on a
composite measure of six criteria
of contentment, including
emotional and physical health, job
satisfaction, healthy behaviour,
access to basic needs and selfreport
of overall life quality.”
Sue Shellenbarger, The Wall
Street Journal, September 16,
2009
● ● ●
Overall, the number of business establishments in the City of Barrie increased by 55.6% from 2,357 in
1998 to 3,668 in 2008. Also notable is the 114% increase in the number of indeterminate or selfemployed
establishments in the city during the same time period. The strong growth associated with selfemployment
was within the Real Estate and Rental and Leasing Sector, followed by professional,
scientific and technical service firms and construction firms. Growth in most sectors was in excess of
100%.
Business establishments in Barrie are dominated by companies and enterprises that employ less than 5
people and 72.8% of all business in the city have less than 10 employees. By employment size, the most
notable increases between 1998 and 2008 have come from establishments employing 200-499 people,
which grew from 11 firms to 25 over the ten year period. This was followed closely by strong growth in
establishments with 5-9 employees (106% growth).
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 38 | P age

In supporting future growth and investment in the city, it is essential to understand and support the
business needs of this element of the local economy. This is particularly relevant in light of research and
documentation that suggests that an overwhelming percentage of new investment is derived from
companies already located in a community.
Figure 20 - Number of Business Establishments by Industry, City of Barrie, 1998-2008
December 2008 December 1998
Industry (NAICS) Total Indeterminate Subtotal Total Indeterminate Subtotal
All Industries 7,702 4,034 3,668 4,242 1,885 2,357
11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and
Hunting
24 18 6 23 17 6
21 Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction 8 4 4 3 1 2
22 Utilities 6 4 2 3 0 3
23 Construction 1,076 690 386 481 299 182
31-33 Manufacturing 338 110 228 280 75 205
41 Wholesale Trade 423 174 249 329 136 193
44-45 Retail Trade 863 296 567 546 192 354
48-49 Transportation and Warehousing 381 257 124 187 116 71
51 Information and Cultural Industries 77 41 36 29 10 19
52 Finance and Insurance 337 207 130 187 108 79
53 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 823 670 153 439 102 174
54 Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services
1,000 587 413 427 197 230
55 Management of Companies and
Enterprises
260 232 28 94 58 36
56 Administrative and Support, Waste
Management and Remediation Services
412 222 190 208 93 115
61 Educational Services 107 52 55 32 9 23
62 Health Care and Social Assistance 545 98 447 280 19 261
71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 108 68 40 51 25 26
72 Accommodation and Food Services 316 70 246 273 81 192
81 Other Services (Except Public
Administration)
595 233 362 322 103 219
91 Public Administration 3 1 2 1 0 1
Source: Canadian Business Patterns Data, 1998 and 2008
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 39 | P age

Figure 21 - Business Establishments by Size, City of Barrie, December 2008
Industry (NAICS) Subtotal 1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-199 200-499 500 +
All Industries 3,668 1,827 842 501 317 95 55 25 6
11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 6 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
21 Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction 4 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
22 Utilities 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
23 Construction 386 214 81 55 28 4 2 1 1
31-33 Manufacturing 228 80 54 33 32 17 7 5 0
41 Wholesale Trade 249 102 56 52 26 11 2 0 0
44-45 Retail Trade 567 214 159 104 53 14 16 7 0
48-49 Transportation and Warehousing 124 68 21 12 16 4 1 2 0
51 Information and Cultural Industries 36 19 5 2 3 4 2 0 1
52 Finance and Insurance 130 70 30 13 14 2 1 0 0
53 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 153 96 30 16 9 1 1 0 0
54 Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services
413 303 64 23 20 3 0 0 0
55 Management of Companies and Enterprises 28 17 7 0 0 3 0 1 0
56 Administrative and Support, Waste
Management and Remediation Services
190 92 49 19 16 8 5 1 0
61 Educational Services 55 19 18 12 4 0 0 0 2
62 Health Care and Social Assistance 447 224 125 55 27 2 8 5 1
71 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 40 15 6 8 7 4 0 0 0
72 Accommodation and Food Services 246 57 57 59 50 15 7 1 0
81 Other Services (Except Public Administration) 362 231 78 36 11 3 1 1 1
91 Public Administration 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Source: Canadian Business Patterns Data, 2008
3.3 Target Sector Opportunities
Using information provided by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)
REDDI database, together with the results of the detailed location quotient analysis, labour flow analysis
and business patterns data (the exporting and importing of labour) the following sectors (and subsectors)
have demonstrated the greatest potential for economic growth in the community. These include:
• Transportation and Warehousing // Wholesale Trade
o Construction, forestry, mining and industrial machinery, equipment and supplies
wholesale distributors
o recyclable material wholesaler distributors
o food wholesaler distributors
o lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies wholesale distributors
o general freight trucking
o specialized freight trucking
• Manufacturing
o Other textile product mills
o Converted paper product manufacturing
o Soap, cleaning compound and toilet preparation manufacturing
• Construction
o Residential building construction
o Specialty trades contractors
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 40 | P age

• Professional, Scientific + Business Services
o Other professional, scientific and technical services
o Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services
• Health Care and Social Assistance
o Out-patient care centres
o Nursing and residential care facilities
o Individual and family services
o Hospitals
An important consideration in determining the city’s target sector focus is the projected growth of these
sectors at both the provincial and local level as well as emerging trends that will shape the industry in the
future. A further consideration is the need to identify where economic development activities should
involve investment attraction, workforce attraction, or retention and expansion efforts to ensure their long
term sustainability and viability in the city.
3.3.1 Transportation + Warehousing // Wholesale Trade Sectors
The transportation and warehousing sector in Ontario accounted for 3.8% of the Province’s economy in
2008, with activities such as the shipping and storage of consumer goods, manufactured products, and
commodities. Despite the economic downturn, the sector has been largely unaffected. While the sector
has suffered some setbacks through 2008 and 2009, including a decrease in GDP (-2.8% from Q42008 to
Q12009) and a decrease in workforce (1.3% from June 2008 to June 2009), it has maintained a relatively
stable share of the province’s total output (3.7% of Ontario’s GDP in Q12009). Overall the industry is
seen as being comparatively stable, but as its fortunes are largely tied to the province’s manufacturing
and trade activity, recovery depends on the performances of other related sectors.
However, the sector is expected to rebound into 2010. The largest factors influencing this rebound should
be a stabilizing manufacturing sector, increased wholesale trade, and increased infrastructure spending
spillovers 14 .
Like the transportation and warehousing sector, the performance of the wholesale trade sector in Ontario
is impacted by the downturn in the manufacturing sector. In 2008, Wholesale Trade industries accounted
for 6.3% of the provinces GDP, which has decreased to 5.7% at the first quarter of 2009 largely based on
decreased production in the manufacturing sector, a slower residential construction market, and
lacklustre retail sales activity. Overall, wholesale trade sales decreased by 0.6% from 2007 to 2008, an
indicator that actually appears to be rising in the early part of 2009 15 . Much of this recovery is tied to
increases in the automotive products and food, beverages and tobacco subsectors 16 .
With economists projecting a slow recovery in the manufacturing sector, it is reasonable to assume that
growth in the wholesale trade sector could also be slow. However, the decreases in automotive assembly
and component manufacturing output are starting to level off, and retail sales are starting to return to prerecession
levels. As well, residential housing construction in Canada is expected to rebound over the
short term, with housing starts in Ontario expected to show growth again in 2010 17 . Also of note is the
potential for economic spill-over based on the infrastructure stimulus. While directly affecting activity in the
construction and manufacturing sectors, wholesale trade should receive a boost as well based on
increased purchasing and service requirements.
14 Scotiabank Group, Provincial Trends, 2009
15 Ontario Ministry of Finance, Economic Accounts, July 2009
16 Statistics Canada, The Daily - Wholesale Trade, August 20, 2009
17 TD Economics, Provincial Economic Forecast, July 16, 2009
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 41 | P age

The city has experienced considerable growth in several subsectors of importance to the transportation,
warehousing and wholesale trade sectors. These include local freight transportation arrangement,
general freight trucking and specialized freight trucking. The importance of strength in this sector is the
advantage it provides to other sectors, especially manufacturing and wholesale trade.
It should be noted however, that while suburban locations have traditionally been the most sought after
locations for transportation and warehousing operations, particularly for consumer/retail oriented
distribution facilities, new warehousing techniques also demand modern facilities with 30-to-40 foot ceiling
clearances, high-quality lighting, more docking bays and larger truck parking facilities resulting in the
need for large parcels of land.
Proximity to a highway is also critical to transportation and warehousing operations. Stem Time (the time
that a vehicle is moving but not getting paid for) is major factor in the site selection process. Locations
that minimize distances to customers or major highways routes are preferred. Traffic congestion can also
have a significant impact on stem time. Given the land constraints in the city, and congestion along the
Highway 400 corridor, prospects over the short term to medium may be limited for logistics operations.
Related to this, however is the growth seen in Barrie’s wholesale trade sector. This has included
beverage wholesalers; new motor vehicle parts and accessories wholesalers; computer and
communications equipment and supplies wholesalers; construction, forestry, mining, and industrial
machinery wholesalers; and recyclable material wholesalers.
The attraction of wholesale trade operations supports existing business operations including hospitals,
manufacturing, construction, transportation and warehousing activity. It is also important to note that
unlike transportation and warehousing operations, wholesale operations can be accommodated on
smaller parcels of land and often do not have the same requirement for access to major highways. Barrie
may have an advantage in this regard, given the inventory of vacant parcels, as well as the industrial
condominium developments in close proximity to Highway 400. Continued population growth in the region
will also fuel growth in the local wholesale trade sector.
For the reasons above, the transportation and warehousing sector together with the warehousing sector
represents a business attraction opportunity for the city.
3.3.2 Manufacturing Sector
Ontario has long been a centre for manufacturing and trade. However, the surge in value of the Canadian
dollar over the past 5 years has resulted in cost-competitive issues, triggering massive restructuring of the
sector and continued shifting of production to lower cost destinations; trends that were further
exacerbated by the lead-up and onset of the global recession in 2008 and 2009. As such, Ontario has lost
some of its competitive position as a low-cost manufacturing location resulting in decreased production,
especially in the automotive industry. With that said, the manufacturing sector still accounted for 17.4% of
the Province’s Gross domestic Product in 2008, so it is important to consider the retention and expansion
of manufacturing in Ontario when assessing the long term growth potential of the economy. The
Scotiabank Group predicts that while there will be a rebound of factory shipments of both automobiles
and auto parts in the later part of 2009, as well as a strengthening global demand that will stabilize the
rest of the manufacturing sector by 2010. However, despite this rebound, much of the decreases in
production and employment are expected to be permanent 18 .
18 Scotiabank Group, Provincial Trends, 2009
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 42 | P age

This places increased importance on the structural shift of the sector in Ontario to technology-based and
knowledge-intensive manufacturing, rather than traditional manufacturing as a driver of growth. If Ontario
is to regain its strength as a manufacturing centre, there will need to be emphasis on producing higher
value or niche goods in more productive ways to offset the losses in traditional manufacturing. A 2007
BMO capital markets report explored the long-term viability of Canadian Manufacturing placing the
highest prospects for growth in:
• Design and engineering;
• Manufacturing of higher-value knowledge-intensive goods;
• Fabrication of semi-processed goods for export; and
• Fabrication of goods more easily produced locally 19 .
The subsectors facing the greatest prospect of long-term restructuring included tobacco, textiles and
clothing, paper and wood products, rubber and plastics, motor vehicle parts, and other transportation
equipment (aerospace, rail stock) 20 .
Considering this, the manufacturing sector in Barrie represents a prime retention and expansion target for
the city. Despite global restructuring, the sector has maintained modest growth based on the diversity of
the sector and the agility that comes with the majority of operations being small, as shown by the
business patterns data. Strong growth has been shown between 2001 and 2006 by several of the larger
manufacturing subsectors in Barrie, including medical equipment and supplies manufacturing, textile
product mills, metalworking machinery manufacturing, converted paper product manufacturing,
miscellaneous manufacturing 21 , and beverage manufacturing. This is in addition to growth from smaller
subsectors. Overall, the data suggests that Barrie may have a competitive advantage in the
manufacturing sector.
The challenge will be supporting these strong growth sectors and providing businesses with access to the
resources they need to excel in the restructured economy. While this includes ensuring businesses have
access to, and information about, new and emerging manufacturing technologies and niche markets for
products, it also means providing the infrastructure to support attraction and expansion of manufacturing
activity. This means readily available and serviced greenfield opportunities, but also the retrofitting and
redevelopment of existing structures that support non-traditional manufacturing.
For the reasons above, the manufacturing sector represents a strong retention and expansion target for
the city in the short to medium term.
3.3.3 Construction Sector
The construction sector in Ontario accounted for 5.2% of the province’s GDP in 2008, second only to
manufacturing in the goods producing sectors. However, production in the industry decreased by 2% from
2007 to 2008, largely based on a 3.9% decrease in production from the non-residential buildings and
engineering construction subsector. In addition, despite stable production levels from 2007 to 2008
residential construction has since slipped, with production decreasing by 11.1% from the first quarter of
2008 to the first quarter of 2009 (production in non-residential buildings and engineering construction has
slipped 11.9% over the same time period).
19
BMO Industry Update: Manufacturing in Canada – Longer Term Prospects in a Challenging Environment, 2007
20
Ibid
21
Miscellaneous manufacturing includes: medical equipment and supplies manufacturing, jewellery and silverware manufacturing,
sporting and athletic goods manufacturing, toy and game manufacturing, office supplies manufacturing, and sign manufacturing.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 43 | P age

Even with the slightly better performance of the Canadian economy leading up to and through the
recession, tighter credit conditions and the collapse of the financial market in the United States have still
affected the Canadian construction sector. Overall, spending on both residential and non-residential
construction in Ontario has steadily decreased over the past year. In addition, the provincial construction
workforce has shed 21,500 workers from June 2008 to June 2009. Housing starts in Ontario over the first
two quarters of 2009 are also down 43% from housing starts over the first and second quarters of 2008 22 .
Like manufacturing, however, the construction sector is expected to rebound over the coming months,
with growth expected to 2011 based partly on the backlog of projects created by the infrastructure
stimulus fund 23 . As noted previously, the recession has had an impact on both the residential and nonresidential
markets in Ontario, but government-related construction and programs will provide the
construction industry with the necessary short-term employment gains until the recovery in other
subsectors is underway, likely after 2010 24 . The Construction Sector Council predicts that the subsector
best positioned for growth during this key transitional time is those skilled in the civil trades; or those best
prepared to make the transition from the residential construction market to non-residential public
infrastructure and utilities construction. The Construction Sector Council schedules the rebound in the
housing market to occur at a much slower pace than non-residential construction.
In Barrie, there has been employment growth of 13.4% in construction industries from 2001 to 2006, with
jobs concentrated in the residential building construction, building equipment contractors, building
finishing contractors, and foundation, structure, and building exterior contractor subsectors in 2006.
Strong population growth in the city, as well as the related demand for housing in Barrie and the
surrounding areas has resulted in the balance of employment in the city being related to residential
construction and building finishing.
However, as noted in the location quotient analysis, there is a significant local labour force concentration
in utility system construction (LQ 2.12), highway, street and bridge construction (LQ 1.01) and foundation,
structure and building construction (1.78) at the subsector level. In light of emerging trends in the
construction industry (towards institutional, civil, and other non-residential construction over the short term
recovery of the industry) the local labour force in Barrie appears to present concentrations in subsectors
that represent the best opportunities for growth. As a result there may be potential to attract construction
business to the city that can tap into these specialized trade skills and the programming available through
Georgian College’s new Sustainable Technologies Centre. Even though the nature and characteristically
small size of these specialized construction industries makes them highly mobile, there is an advantage
to attracting and retaining these industries and employees in light of short-term growth potential in the
sector. Despite the fact the work may not be undertaken in Barrie, increased industry presence will
support these workers in the high-growth subsectors, allowing them to live in Barrie and enabling Barrie
to develop a reputation for these high value skills.
A further consideration is the impact of the emerging green economy. A 2008 report sponsored by the
United Nation Environmental Programme (UNEP) entitled Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a
Sustainable, Low-Carbon World looked at the emergence of the ‘green economy’ and its impact on work
and employment growth in the 21 st Century. The report presented evidence for the first time that green
jobs were in fact being created around the world, in an effort to both mitigate the negative effects of
climate change and meet emission reduction targets under the UN climate convention. Among other
22 Ontario Homebuilders Association, Monthly Housing Starts, June 2009
23 Scotiabank Group, Provincial Trends, 2009
24 The Construction Sector Council, Construction Looking Forward 2009-2017 Key Highlights: Ontario, April 2009
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 44 | P age

things, it also established a link between the increasing prevalence of green building technologies and
potential job growth in the construction sector.
The strength of the construction industry with regards to the emergence of green building technologies is
that many of the core skills required already exist. Employers actively engaged in green building
technologies are demanding workers with traditional construction and trades skills, with up-to-date
training on energy efficient construction 25 . The UNEP indicates that the trades with the highest potential to
see growth based on retrofitting of buildings in the green economy are: pipe fitters, sheet metal workers,
HVAC technicians, engineers, electricians, and general construction workers. This has implications for the
city of Barrie and its educational partners to ensure that they remain on or ahead of the curve insofar as
the training needs and requirements of local industry. It also has a direct bearing on the city’s competitive
position if it can demonstrate that it is instrumental in training a workforce for a new economy.
Notwithstanding the immediate impact on the construction sector, the demand for green collar jobs is
gathering strength across a growing number of industry segments. The following figure illustrates the
current breadth of industries and occupations that are responding to this fundamental shift in the global
economy.
Figure 22 - Clean Energy Economy: Definitions, Segments, and Occupations
Category Segment Occupations
Clean Energy
(production,
transmission and
storage of clean,
renewable power)
Energy Efficiency
(reduction in energy
use)
Environmentally
Friendly
Production
(mitigation of
environmental harm
associated with
existing
products/production
Energy Generation Electrical engineers/technicians; plumbers,
electricians; solar/wind/plant system operators and
installers; mechanical engineers/technicians;
systems analysts; equipment operators (e.g. drilling)
Energy Transmission Power-line system installers/technicians, repairers,
assemblers; distribution and dispatching
Energy Storage Electrical assemblers/technicians; tool and die
makers; mechanical/electrical engineers
Energy Efficiency HVAC/electrical engineers and technicians;
press/machine operators and assemblers; systems
analysts; energy auditors
Transportation Operations and logistics managers, equipment
engineers and testers, fuel system specialists
Manufacturing/Industrial Materials scientists, lab and engineering technicians,
systems analysts
Construction Equipment operators and engineers; architects,
roofers and construction; building inspectors (e.g.
LEED); environmental protection
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 45 | P age

processes) technicians/consultants
Conservation and
Pollution Mitigation
(management of
natural resources,
emissions mitigation,
materials recycling)
Training and
Support (provision
of specialized
services to other 4
categories)
Agriculture Agriculture/irrigation technicians, environmental
science technicians, sustainability consultants
Energy Production Industrial equipment manufacturers and installers,
geologists and chemists re: CO2 storage
Materials Machine setters and operators, lab technicians
Air and Environment Environmental scientists and consultants; hazardous
material assessment and removal
Recycling and Waste Materials scientists; refuse collection and processing;
plant operators and technicians
Water and Wastewater Environmental and geosciences technicians;
chemical technicians; conservationists
Business Services Lawyers/assistants; PR/marketing; HR
Finance/Investment Accountants; risk analysts; bankers; statisticians
Research and Advocacy Lab and engineering technicians; vocational
teachers; mechanics and installers; cost estimators
Source: The Clean Energy Economy. The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009.
The recent opening of Georgian College’s Centre for Sustainable Technologies represents a significant
opportunity to drive demand for these new green collar jobs and attract new business investment to the
community in the form of companies who want access to this trained workforce. Discussions with
Georgian College suggest that companies such as PowerStream and Hydro One are already recruiting a
significant number of students (coop placements and permanent employment) for their facilities
reinforcing the quality of the current programming and the students themselves. More investigation is
required in the future to determine how the curriculum can be adapted to produce a greater number of
graduates for the green economy.
For the reasons above, the construction industry coupled with the associated professional services
represent a business attraction target for the city.
3.3.4 Professional, Scientific + Business Services Sector
The professional and business services sectors in Ontario are becoming increasingly important as the
province transitions from a manufacturing based economy to a more knowledge-based economy. Overall,
the professional and business services sectors represented 8.5% of the Province’s GDP in 2008, with
output values in the sectors increasing annually since 2005. However, the sector has not been unaffected
by the global recession, as relationships with the manufacturing, construction, finance and insurance, and
real estate sectors have contributed to decreased output over the past year. The provincial workforce
decrease by approximately 3.5% from June 2008 to June 2009.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 46 | P age

The innovation and knowledge-based economy has become a major driver of economic growth in urban
areas around the world. As a result, the roles of cities and regions in a global economy are being
redefined and reshaped. The transformation that is emerging is as significant and as challenging as the
transformation made from agriculture to industry. Most significant, is the move away from jobs based on
physical activity or repetitive tasks to ones that require analytical skills and judgement.
Central to this paradigm shift is the fact that creativity, knowledge and innovation and access to
information have become the key to driving economic growth and promoting economic development in a
globalized economy. Creativity in this context refers to the formulation of new ideas and the application of
these ideas to scientific inventions and technological innovations and works of art, across all aspects of
today’s economy.
As noted in Richard Florida’s Rise of the Creative Class, many of the individuals and industries within this
class or worker provides the high-value added output and high wages that drive growth of the larger
economy. Sustaining and growing employment within the sector offers an opportunity to offset many of
the losses sustained as the provincial manufacturing sector restructures. Several trends affecting other
sectors should assist with the rebound in the professional and business services sector, including the
stabilization of manufacturing 26 , the strong civil and public works construction market assisted by the
infrastructure stimulus package, and a rebounded Canadian housing construction market.
Growth in professional and businesses have been occurring across several subsectors in Barrie. The
strongest growth has been from the smallest subsectors, but several of the larger subsectors also
experienced strong growth from 2001 to 2006, including general business support services; other
professional, scientific, and technical services; employment services; advertising and related services;
and accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services industries. As well, there are a number
of sub-sectors that offer potential for growth based on exported local labour and underperforming industry
concentration, like computer systems design and related services, as well as management, scientific, and
technical consulting. Overall, data suggests Barrie has both a good base for expansion of this sector, as
well as a strong industry in place to support businesses in the professional services sector. Continued
population growth should also foster growth in several sub-sectors including legal services or accounting
and tax preparation, or services supporting local industries, like architectural/engineering services.
Professional, scientific and technical services together with business services represent a significant
business attraction and retention opportunity for the city.
3.3.5 Health Industries
The health care and social assistance sector represented $31 billion in industry output in 2008,
accounting for 6.2% of the province’s GDP. As well, from June 2008 to 2009, the health care and social
assistance sector was one of the only provincial industry sectors to post employment gains (4.3%). As the
majority of employment in Ontario’s health care industry is within the public sector, the performance of the
sector largely depends on government spending. The 2009 Ontario budget placed health care spending
at $40.7 billion in 2008-09, with a projected increase to $47.4 billion in 2011-12 27 . While this is not the
only measure that would indicate growth, it is reasonable to expect that (unless a new provincial
government elected in 2011 alters spending) there will be continued growth of the sector into the medium
term.
26 Scotiabank Group, Provincial Trends, 2009
27 Ontario Budget 2009: Chapter II: Ontario’s Economic Outlook and Fiscal Plan
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 47 | P age

Continued growth of the sector, paired with increasing demand from a growing population, puts pressure
on the industry to find qualified health care professionals to meet the demand. Increasingly in Ontario the
solution to skill shortages across all sectors is the attraction of foreign-trained professionals to meet the
shortages in skilled professionals. Thus, the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials has
become a priority for the Ontario government over recent years, and will likely continue to be paramount
as the gap between the provincial supply of health care professionals and demand for skilled positions
widens. While quality of place remains one of the most important factors in attracting health care and
related knowledge-based workers, the discussion takes on greater importance when considering the
importance of foreign born professionals. Not only does it become necessary to integrate these
professionals into the health care workforce seamlessly, it becomes very important to provide an
environment where ethnic and cultural diversity is supported, both for individuals and their families.
Considering local historic growth at the subsector level in health care and social assistance, the strongest
growth has been employment in out-patient care centres, nursing and residential care facilities, individual
and family services, hospitals, and other ambulatory care services. It is also worth noting that
infrastructure investments such as the Centre for Health and Wellness at Georgian College will continue
to supplement the local health care workforce in the future. However, demand for professionals across
the sector continues to outpace the supply available domestically. With considerable expansion underway
at Royal Victoria Hospital coupled with the lack of access to a university medical school, it would appear
that Barrie is currently poised to experience a wider supply-demand gap across the entire sector, but
especially with regards to specialist physicians. Thus it is very important that Barrie continues to explore
and identify quality of place factors that appeal to both domestic health care professionals, as well as
foreign-born professionals.
The health industries represent a significant business attraction and expansion opportunity for the city.
3.4 Summary of Findings
Based on the foregoing high level review of the city of Barrie’s industry sector performance the following
findings are considered relevant to the development of the Economic Development Strategy.
• Much of the city’s recent employment growth has been fuelled by the growth in demand for
services attributed to the strong rate of population growth in the city and surrounding region as
well as the GTA (e.g. construction, health care, retail trade, public administration) rather than any
significant competitive advantage on the part of the city of Barrie.
• An analysis of the city’s business and industry specialization reveals that the highest
concentration of labour as compared to the province is in:
o Construction (LQ 1.26)
o Retail Trade (LQ 1.22)
o Public Administration (LQ 1.15)
o Transportation and Warehousing (LQ 1.13)
o Accommodation + Food Services (LQ 1.13)
• Business growth is also a strong indicator of economic potential within a local or provincial
economy. In the case of the city of Barrie, there was a 55.6% increase in the number of business
in the city of Barrie from 1998 to 2009 with much of this growth occurring in:
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 48 | P age

o Retail Trade
o Health Care and Social Assistance
o Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
o Construction
o Other Services (personal and business services)
• Business establishments in Barrie are dominated by companies and enterprises that employ less
than 5 people and 72.8% of all business in the city employee less than 10 employees. While this
suggests a high level of entrepreneurism in the city it has implications for local economic
development efforts with regards to support for small business to help them grow into 10 and 25
employee companies e.g. business mentoring, business planning, development of export
strategies, etc.
• A further consideration to understanding the Barrie economy is the extent to which creative class
occupations and businesses are represented. Currently, creative class occupations, as defined
by Dr. Richard Florida account for 30.1% of all occupations in the city as compared to a provincial
average of 34.7%. Other comparative communities such as Peterborough and Kingston
outperform the city of Barrie with 32.7% and 39.6% respectively of all occupations being creative
occupations. Given the heightened importance of these types of occupations (and they affect all
industry sectors) these findings make for a compelling argument as to the type of investment
attraction efforts (both marketing and messaging) that the City of Barrie should engage in to
provide greater opportunity for diversification of both the local and regional economy.
• Based on the current performance of the city the following sectors should form the basis for its
business investment attraction and expansion efforts in the future:
o Health care
� Health care practitioners, medical and diagnostic laboratories, associated
manufacturing
o Construction
� Non-residential and public infrastructure and utilities construction
o Professional, Technical and Scientific Services + business services
� Legal services, accounting, financial services, specialized design, architecture
and engineering
o Transportation + Warehousing together with Wholesale Trade
� Consumer products, support activities for manufacturing and health care sectors
o Manufacturing
� Technology based and knowledge intensive manufacturing or niche
manufacturing
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 49 | P age

• Investment attraction efforts must address both the attraction of business operations and the
need to attract, develop and sustain the workforce required to support the expansion and
development of these sectors locally.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 50 | P age

4 The Impact of Creative Economy
The rise of the knowledge-based or ‘creative’ economy has radically altered the ways that communities
and regions establish and maintain their competitive edge. Knowledge and innovation has replaced
natural resources and physical labour as the major sources of personal wealth creation and economic
growth. In this new era, a community’s ability to attract and retain the highly educated workers needed
for sustained growth has become central to long term economic success.
Conventional wisdom would argue that if the jobs are available, the workers will follow. However, as the
demand for skilled workers outstrips supply on a global level, the people and talent that are in demand
can essentially choose where to live and where to work. Until recently, this has meant that larger urban
areas have been the location of choice, in large part because of the range of employment opportunities,
access to a broad range of cultural and recreational amenities, and access to post secondary education
available in larger centres. However, there is increasing evidence of the success that second tier
communities are having in attracting this type of worker based on the desire for a higher quality of life
experience.
● ● ●
“Although science and technology
will continue to play a vital role in
innovation, the critical ingredients
for continued U.S. economic
success are likely to come from
other disciplines...
Communities and regions that embrace cultural and economic
diversity, undertake efforts to integrate economic, social and
environmental considerations into mainstream policy, facilitate a
connected and engaged business and investment community, and
provide access to a high standard of living and quality of life
experience will succeed in the race to attract talent and investment
over the long term.
● ● ●
4.1 The Creative Economy Defined
Defining the economy by the work people do is different than the conventional way of defining it by the
labour force associated with a select industry. Somebody may be working in a traditional industry - such
as the auto industry - but is not necessarily working on the assembly line in a routine-physical occupation.
A car designer for example is a creative occupation within a traditional industry.
In the book The Rise of the Creative Class (2002), Professor Richard Florida details the significant
societal and economic impact that the creative class of worker is having on both local and international
economies and the shifts being made to attract and retain this type of
workforce, as more and more economic developers realize the
importance of this aspect of a workforce.
While much of the thought leadership on defining the creative
economy has been provided by the writings and research of
Professor Richard Florida, a review of other published material from
across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K also provides insight in how to
define and quantify the creative economy.
For instance, in a report entitled North Shore Creative Economy
Market Analysis and Action Plan, prepared for the Creative Economy
Association of the North Shore (Massachusetts), broad industry
categories have been used to define the creative economy, which
were then matched to 6-digit codes from the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS).
In their report they have identified 3 important attributes for
● ● ●
...In the post scientific society, the
creation of wealth and jobs based
on innovation and new ideas will
tend to draw less on the natural
sciences and engineering and
more on the organizational and
social sciences, on the arts, on
new business processes, and on
meeting consumer needs based
on niche production of specialized
products and services.”
Christopher T. Hill, Issues in
Science and Technology, 2009
● ● ●
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establishing a framework for assessing and analyzing the impact of the creative economy in Boston’s
North Shore area based on the characterization of their business enterprises. These included:
• A focus on enterprises (the number of businesses rather than the size of its labour force);
• The number of innovative and culturally based enterprises (arts and culture as well as
engineering firms);
• The number of enterprises engaged in direct creative activities (cottage industries as well as
small business) 28 .
Based on the background review it is appropriate to include a fourth attribute to an equation for
measuring the creative economy:
• A focus on occupations (what an employee does rather than the industry they work in).
This approach - focusing on what firms make together with what people do - is a departure from the
traditional method of assessing the scale and impact of a local economy, where consideration is given to
labour force activity or concentration by industry sector or subsector. While an effective tool, this
approach does not provide enough of an understanding as to the nature of the work being undertaken in
a community, the skill levels associated with that work or the number of businesses involved in delivering
the range of goods and services being produced.
To effectively gauge the scale and impact of the creative economy, consideration must be given to both
occupational data and business establishments at a local and even a regional level. A further
distinction can then be made between creative economy elements and the broader economy as a method
to demonstrate both scale and impact. This in turn will allow for a better understanding on the part of
economic development professionals and local decision makers as to the opportunities and challenges
facing this aspect of their business community.
One of primary concerns with using only occupational data to assess the impact of the creative economy,
is that while the individual attached to that job may reside in a select community, they may not work in
that community. This is particularly relevant when consideration is given to the degree to which workers in
the City of Barrie commute to other locations in the region and GTA and the extent to which rural areas
adjacent to urban areas have high proportions of their workforce in creative occupations – simply put, the
city often provides the employment opportunity, while the rural area provides a lifestyle choice.
4.1.1 Creative Occupations
In defining the creative economy we have relied on the work of Dr. Richard Florida in the book the Rise of
the Creative Class. As the various classes of workers that comprise an economy are defined on the basis
of occupation, consideration must be given to the availability of occupation data from Statistics Canada; in
particular the National Occupation Classification codes (NOCs). These classification codes have been
matched against Dr. Florida’s occupational categories for the creative class of worker.
Based on this approach creative economy occupations in Canada are said to comprise:
28 ConsultEcon, Inc., North Shore Creative Economy Market Analysis and Action Plan, April 2008.
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 52 | P age

Figure 23 - Creative Economy Occupations
Creative Economy Occupations
Professional Occupations in Natural and Applied
Sciences
Technical Occupations related to natural and
Applied Sciences
Finance and Insurance Administration
Occupations
Professional Occupations in Health
Teachers and Professors Nurse Supervisors and Registered Nurses
Professional Occupations in Art and Culture Technical and Related Occupations in Health
Technical Occupations in Art, Culture,
Recreation and Sport
Judges, lawyers, psychologists, social
workers, ministers of religion and policy and
program
Source: Richard Florida, the Rise of the Creative Class, 2002. Millier Dickinson Blais, 2009
In the 2009 report, Ontario in the Creative Age, Florida pushes this concept further by positioning creative
occupations in the context of three additional broad kinds of work.
• Creative occupations – the growing number of workers who are paid to think. These include
scientists and technologists, artists and entertainers, and managers and analysts.
• Routine-service occupations - where the work involves little autonomy occupations and is
focused on the delivery of services, for example, food-service workers, janitors and clerks;
• Routine-physical occupations - consisting of people who use physical skills and carry out
repetitive tasks (for example, tradespersons, mechanics, crane operators and assembly line
workers);
• Routine-resource occupations - including mining and forestry.
What is apparent from the creative occupational categories is their ability to cut across industry sector
lines in a way that can impact both traditional and emerging industries and the degree to which these
occupations translate to a well paid and highly skilled workforce. This is particularly true if one considers
the skills needed for creative occupations are more heavily weighted towards analytical 29 and social
intelligence 30 skills, both of which play a significant role in a knowledge driven economy.
29
Examples of occupations that require the highest level of analytical thinking skills include surgeons, biomedical engineers,
dentists, accountants, plumber, art directors etc.
30
Examples of occupations that require the highest level of social intelligence skills include psychiatrists, chief executives,
marketing managers, lawyers, sports coach, film directors etc.
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4.1.2 Creative Businesses and Enterprises
Using the detailed industry categories defined by the North American Industrial Classifications System
(NAICS), the next step in defining and measuring the impact of the creative economy in the City of Barrie
is to identify the range of business and enterprises to be included.
Relying on our review of secondary sources, creative businesses and enterprises are said to include:
• Advertising
• Architecture
• Artists
• Business Consulting
• Design
• Education
• Engineering
• Film
• Games
• Heritage
• Marketing
• Museums
• Music
• Performing Arts
• Photographic Services
• Public Relations
• Publishing
• Radio + Television
• Web + Software
The discussion that follows provides an understanding of Barrie’s position in the creative economy.
4.2 Barrie’s Creative Economy
The results of the location quotient analysis suggest that while Barrie has a fairly diverse local economy, it
hasn’t yet developed any significant competitive advantage with which to attract business and investment
to the community. Further, a significant portion of the existing labour force is concentrated in sales and
service occupations and trades, transport, and equipment operations. Sales and service occupations are
often low paying and typically follow increases in population, while trades, transport and equipment
operators are heavily dependent on the manufacturing sector which has been in decline in the province in
recent years.
However, when consideration is given to the occupations that comprise the creative economy a different
picture emerges for the city. People engaged in creative occupations currently comprise 30% of the city’s
workforce (21,430 workers) an increase of 28.6% since 2001. In addition, the majority of these workers
are in management occupations followed by social science, education, government service and religion
occupations. In terms of percentage growth, occupations in social science, education, government
service and religion saw a 60% increase between 2001 and 2006 followed by business, finance and
administration and art, culture, recreation and sport.
Given the generally higher wages, specialized skills, and innovative capacities of these individuals, the
growth of this class of worker has substantial implications for the city’s economic development strategy in
terms of the way the city should be marketing and promoting the city, target industry opportunities, and
the quality of place experiences that are needed to attract and retain these workers.
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Figure 24 - Labour Force by Creative Occupations, City of Barrie, 2001 and 2006
Occupations (NOC-S) 2006 2001
Total Creative Occupations 21,430 16,660
A Management occupations 7,240 6,045
A0 Senior management occupations 570 390
A1 Specialist managers 1,895 1,430
A2 Managers in retail trade, food and accommodation services 2,500 2,000
A3 Other managers 2,275 2,225
B Business, finance and administration occupations 2,205 1,665
B0 Professional occupations in business and finance 1,350 980
B1 Finance and insurance administration occupations 855 685
C Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 3,575 2,960
C0 Professional occupations in natural and applied sciences 1,650 1,420
C1 Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences 1,925 1,540
D Health occupations 2,600 2,085
D0 Professional occupations in health 550 435
D1 Nurse supervisors and registered nurses 1,285 1,010
D2 Technical and related occupations in health 765 640
E Occupations in social science, education, government service and religion 4,160 2,600
E0 Judges, lawyers, psychologists, social workers, ministers of religion, and policy and
program officers
1,235 710
E1 Teachers and professors 2,925 1,890
F Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport 1,650 1,305
F0 Professional occupations in art and culture 520 395
F1 Technical occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport 1,130 910
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 and 2006 Census of Population
Despite this strong performance and the concentration of workers in creative occupations, the City of
Barrie lags behind the provincial level (34.7%), as well as a number
of other select communities (figure 24). Using Kingston,
Peterborough and Brantford as comparator communities based on
the size of population, proximity to Toronto and access to major
transportation corridors, the City of Barrie ranks 3rd ahead of
Brantford.
It should be noted that while each of the comparator communities
benefit from a post secondary university presence, the exception
being the City of Barrie, the city has the most to gain from its
proximity to the northern GTA and the City of Toronto in the
attraction of a skilled and talented workforce.
● ● ●
What drives economic growth are
not companies that do things more
efficiently; the real key to growth is
to create new things, new work
and new kinds of jobs.”
Dr. Richard Florida
City of Barrie 2008
● ● ●
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Figure 25 - Creative Economy Profile, City of Barrie 31
Ontario Kingston Peterborough Barrie Brantford
Population 2006 12,160,282 117,207
74,898 128,430 90,192
% creative class occupations 34.7% 39.6% 32.7% 30.1% 24.7%
% service class occupations 41.5% 47.1% 47.2% 44.6% 43.9%
% working class occupations 22.1% 12.8% 19.8% 24.9% 30.5%
% agriculture & resources class occupations 1.7% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.8%
% change in creative class 2001-2006 -0.2% 1.5% 0.6% 1.0% 0.2%
% establishments in creative industries 14.4% 11.3% 9.5% 10.3% 7.4%
Average annual full-time emplyment income $ 55,626 $ 51,571 $ 46,420 $ 50,404 $
46,565
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2001, 2006 & Canadian Business Patterns Data 2008
A more detailed breakdown of the number and range of establishments that comprise Barrie’s creative
industries are provided in Appendix V.
31 The creative occupation figures for each of the comparison communities including Barrie have been revised from the original
template of calculating percentage change figures between 1996 and 2006. Revised calculations were performed for each
community using data from 2001 to 2006, due to significant boundary changes in both Barrie and Brantford prior to the 2001
census.
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5 SWOT Assessment
An important component in the advancement of an economic development strategy for the City of Barrie
is the opinions and thoughts of those business and industry leaders that already operate within a select
jurisdiction. Area businesses and community leaders can provide an excellent source of up-to-date
information or perceptions, as it relates to an area’s strengths and weaknesses as well as the
opportunities and threats that may be confronting industry groups or a region as a whole in its efforts to
attract and retain business investment.
In this context a SWOT Assessment (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) was
undertaken to examine the City of Barrie’s ability to support the attraction, retention and expansion of
business and industrial investment, the city’s capacity to deliver on economic development activities and
programming and the overall direction of the strategy and the sustainability of the community over the
longer term.
This effort was accomplished through a background and literature review and discussions with business
and community leaders. In July and August 2009, more than 80 individuals participated in the strategy’s
consultation process which included a focus group session, as well as telephone and face to face
interviews. This included representatives from government, health and education, arts and culture,
business, and the development community. The intent was to elicit more detailed input on the issues and
challenges facing the municipality as it advances its economic development interests and discern the
range of opportunities and strategies that would advance local economic growth. A further 650
participants from across all business sectors participated in an on-line survey that was hosted by the city,
which gathered additional information from the business community and public at-large. The results of the
City’s recent BR+E interviews are also reflected in the SWOT assessment.
The analysis provides insight into the perceived gaps and opportunities for the City of Barrie in its efforts
to advance economic growth and serves to further inform the discussion as to the city’s competitive
position and the direction of the Economic Development Strategy.
The key findings of the SWOT Assessment are summarized below.
5.1 Strengths
It is essential that an economic development strategy builds off and capitalize on the unique elements
and strengths of a local community in a way that will lead to economic growth and critical mass of
business and investment activity in the future.
The following identifies some of the key elements on which Barrie can build a strong economic future.
5.1.1 Quality of Life
Located on Kempenfelt Bay and within an easy drive of the Blue Mountains and cottage country, Barrie
has easy access to a wide range of outdoor pursuits and leisure activities that offer residents four season
recreation. As a regional service centre for central Ontario, Barrie also boasts a wide range of services,
such as the Royal Victoria Hospital and Georgian College, as well as being the focus for retail and
commercial opportunities in the county. This high quality of life is an attribute sought by many creative
and knowledge driven businesses which are not constrained with proximity to markets or suppliers. The
importance of quality of life to local businesses is further reflected in the responses to the business
survey.
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5.1.2 Transportation and Connectivity to GTA
Barrie has great connectivity to the Greater Toronto Area. Highway 400 is the main highway between
southern Ontario and cottage country and the Blue Mountains with the junction of 400 and Essa Road
having an Annual Average Daily Traffic flow of 111,500 32 vehicles (2006). With the opening of the Barrie
South GO Transit station in December 2007, the city now has daily passenger rail service to Toronto and
the northern GTA. Ridership has continued to increase since the introduction of GO train service to
Barrie, resulting in both levels of government committing a further $3 million to support the construction of
a second station near the downtown at the former Allendale Station. Barrie is also served by the Lake
Simcoe Regional Airport, though primarily used for small recreational and flight training aircraft, the airport
has the capacity for larger corporate, regional and commercial aircraft. The airport has recently received
$13.8 million, with $4.6 million coming from the government’s Economic Action Plan, to upgrade the
facility, specifically with runway expansion and security enhancements. The planned closure of Buttonville
Airport should support the long term viability of the airport.
5.1.3 Growth of Georgian College
With over 6,000 full-time students and 28,000 part-time students, Georgian College in Barrie, represents
one of the community’s greatest assets. The College offers a range of programs in business and
computer studies, transportation studies, engineering technology, general studies, design and visual arts,
health sciences and human services, hospitality and tourism and post-graduate studies. Through the
College’s University Partnership Centre (UPC), the college also offers degree and graduate studies
through partnerships with seven select universities, including York University, Central Michigan
University, Nipissing University, and the University of Windsor.
In May 2009 the College announced a $65 million expansion
project, with funding coming from the Federal and Provincial
government, as well as the City of Barrie and the County of
Simcoe. This funding will be used to develop the Georgian
College Centre for Health and Wellness at the Barrie campus.
The construction of the 165,000 square foot facility will provide
spaces for up to 1,800 full-time students in the first phase, and
3,000 students when fully complete. Through the Centre the
college expects to expand its degree offerings in nursing,
science, dental hygiene, allied health, and health sciences. Once
completed, the Centre will provide approximately 400 new full
and part-time staff and faculty jobs and will also include
community-accessible teaching and health care clinics, providing
residents of Simcoe County with access to a range of health care.
5.1.4 Expansion of Royal Victoria Hospital
The Royal Victoria Hospital is a significant economic engine
for the City of Barrie. Serving central Ontario the hospital
specializes in cancer care, surgical services, critical care,
mental health rehabilitation services, as well as women and
children's programs; the hospital is one of Barrie’s largest
employers with over 200 physicians, 1,800 staff members and
a further 1,100 volunteers.
32 Ministry of Transportation, Provincial Highways Traffic Volumes 1988 to 2006
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In February 2009 the hospital began construction of Phase I of its expansion program, a $400 million
project which will allow the hospital to accommodate the growth plans of Barrie and across the Simcoe-
Muskoka region. The expansion is set to be completed in 2012 and will create employment for an
additional 1,200 professional staff including physicians. The planned expansion will further enhance the
city’s ability to attract a greater number of health care professionals and services to the community.
5.1.5 Revitalization of Allandale Station
The Allandale Village project proposed by the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka and the Correct Group of
Companies represents positive movement towards downtown revitalization, on the site of the old
Allandale train station. The estimated $50 million investment between the two organizations would
produce a mixed use area, with community spaces, 150,000 square feet of commercial / condominium /
hotel space, a GO transit platform, and pedestrian overpasses to improve connectivity between the
downtown area and the waterfront.
5.1.6 Youthful and Growing Population
Barrie is recognized as one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, having achieved a growth rate of
62.2% between 1991 and 2006, far outstripping the national and Ontario averages. The growth during
this time has been concentrated in the 40 to 49 years and 10 to 19 year age groups. Indeed the
population less than 15 accounted for 21.3% of the city`s population, making it one of the youngest
Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada. The growth of and dominance of these ages groups, suggests
that Barrie is a young community that has attracted young families which are crucial to supporting the
economic growth of the city.
5.1.7 Significant Infrastructure Investment
As one of the country’s fastest growing cities, Barrie has been targeted for significant infrastructure
investment through the stimulus package announced in the 2009 federal budget. To date the City of
Barrie has received over $35 million in funding for 6 key infrastructure projects, such as the Fire and
Emergency Services Station #1 and Headquarters. These investments are important in ensuring that the
infrastructure and services in the City of Barrie can keep pace with the rapid population expansion that
has occurred, as well as the projected growth into the future.
5.1.8 Small Businesses Growth Reflects Entrepreneurial Culture
Barrie has seen a significant growth in the number of businesses operating in the community, with 3,460
additional businesses between 1998 and 2008. This growth has been particularly concentrated in the
small businesses and owner-operated businesses, typically with less than 5 employees. These types of
businesses have accounted for over 75% of the growth in business over this ten year period. This pattern
reflects the growing importance of small businesses within the wider provincial and national economy,
and the efforts by many jurisdictions to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing and
expanding their base of business. This segment of the economy is likely to continue to represent the
greatest growth potential in Barrie.
5.1.9 Growing Support for Arts and Culture
With the completion of the city’s first cultural strategy in 2006, the city has taken a significant step forward
in realizing the importance of cultural activity in the revitalization of the downtown and its relationship to
the waterfront. The findings of the report reinforce the fact that investing in the arts in the downtown will
create greater economic wealth for the community through a strong core economy. Even more
importantly, is the role the city could play in advancing the development of needed facilities to support
arts programming and events in the city’s core and in the development of cultural tourism opportunities for
the city. Research demonstrates that cultural facilities in a downtown make significant contributions to the
health of a downtown. This fact is reinforced by the degree to which municipalities across Ontario are
City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy 59 | P age

themselves investing in the development of cultural facilities in their downtowns in partnership with other
levels of government (e.g. Burlington, Guelph, and Kingston).
5.1.10 A Focus on Cultural Tourism
The city of Barrie jointly undertook the Lake Simcoe Tourism Area (LSTA) Assessment using the Premierranked
Tourist Destination Framework in late 2006. The report which was completed in 2007 suggested
that there are many opportunities to fine tune the existing tourism product in the region and add
complementary products to enhance visitors’ experiences. The research undertaken suggested that there
is a strong demand for the tourism products of the area by Canadians traveling in Ontario and predictions
based on age, education and ethnicity indicate that demand for these products should be stable for the
next 10 years.
The rapid growth of the city of Barrie presents opportunities for tourism, such as arts, theatre, culture,
restaurants, and shopping. In addition, Barrie’s trails and parkland extend along the shores of Kempenfelt
Bay provide the setting for summer and winter community events and activities, as well as beaches,
marinas and boat launches 33 . The City’s Downtown Revitalization Plan will enhance the waterfront
resources, attract new businesses and develop new cultural attractions that will enable Barrie to be
“Ontario’s Premier Waterfront Community”.
5.2 Weaknesses
While the previous section outlined the strengths on which to base economic growth, this does not
necessarily ensure that a community is ready or able to capitalise on these opportunities. The following
sets out some of the weaknesses or competitive disadvantages that may be constraining Barrie.
5.2.1 Perceived Lack of Leadership
A theme that emerged throughout the consultation process with the business community was the
perceived lack of leadership or vision from the City Council in tackling the issues and problems
constraining growth. This combined with what businesses view as lack of progress on many of the
significant infrastructure and community projects, for example the downtown revitalization and the
convention centre has the community concerned that the city is not capitalizing on opportunities that will
ensure the growth and development of the community.
5.2.2 Lack of Support for Small Business
A common concern raised by businesses throughout the consultation was the lack of support for those
who were setting up a business or for those existing small businesses looking to grow. Though there are
some business support organisations they are not sophisticated in their products and services and there
appears to be a lack of coordination between various support functions. The city was seen as having little
or no involvement in supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses and many participants suggested
this as an area the city should become more involved with. While many communities including the City of
Barrie provide financial support for small business enterprise centres 34 or other programming to support
start-up and existing small business enterprises during their development, there is growing demand for a
greater sophistication of product and better resources (such as mentoring, investment support, training,
and market research) that will enable entrepreneurs and small enterprises to better capitalize on
opportunities for growth.
33 The Resource Management Consulting Group. Lake Simcoe Tourism Area Assessment, 2007
34 Greater Barrie Business Enterprise Centre, http://www.barrie.ca/Content.cfm?C=5289&SC=1&SCM=0&MI=766&L1M=41
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5.2.3 Lack of Regional Collaboration
Across North America, an increasing number of economic development organizations have realized that
competing successfully in a global market place requires a critical mass that towns and cities can no
longer muster on their own. These jurisdictions are increasingly turning to a wider regional approach to
economic development to remain competitive. The City of Barrie currently undertakes very little regional
collaboration with neighbouring communities and many of the surrounding communities view Barrie very
negatively. The recent creation of an economic development office at the County of Simcoe provides a
new opportunity to drive collaborative economic development efforts in particular the marketing and
promotion of the region.
5.2.4 Availability of Serviced Employment Land
The City of Barrie does not currently have sufficient employment lands to support the future growth of the
community. There is approximately 1,000 acres of developable lands in the city, but ownership patterns
and development approval status constrains development leaving many acres largely inaccessible.
There is also considerable pressure for future employment lands to be used for further commercial and
retail development. The annexation of land from Innisfil will alleviate much of this pressure but these
lands will take some time to come on stream, which means that there may be a shortfall in employment
land, which may slow development. In addition, the annexed lands will be under considerable pressure to
accommodate further commercial and retail developments, often on the same sites considered prime for
industrial and business park development.
5.2.5 High Levels of Commuting
Barrie has demonstrated significant growth in the past ten years, but this is attributed to a significant rise
in the number of residents who commute out of the city on a daily basis. In 2006 it was estimated that
Barrie had a net export of 12,650 workers. The perception of this commuting is that it is “people working
in the financial services sector commuting to the financial district of Toronto”. The findings presented in
the report however, illustrate a very different picture. There is almost as much commuting to Simcoe
County and Orillia (17.1%) as into the Greater Toronto Area (20.8%) and in terms of the types of jobs
held by these commuters, the majority of these are in manufacturing, construction and public
administration. The GO commuter study identifies that many of their commuters are leaving Barrie to
earn higher wages (69%), however a lack of jobs in their field was also rated highly (65%) as was longterm
job opportunities (50%). Barrie has a sufficiently large labour force but needs to do more to attract
businesses which will suit the occupational and wage to reduce the high levels of commuting.
5.2.6 Lack of a University
Many communities the size of Barrie, such as Peterborough and Kingston, Cambridge have universities
or university campuses. These institutions generate not just a highly skilled and educated driven
workforce and attract knowledge based and creative enterprise because of the workforce recruitment
opportunities. Barrie has lagged behind the Province as well as these communities in the development of
its creative economy and the lack of a university could be a contributing factor to this performance.
Georgian College’s development of their University Partnership Centre may offset this somewhat.
5.3 Opportunities
External factors can also play a significant role in determining the possibilities for an economic
development strategy. This can include structural changes in the broader economy, shifts in
demographics and technological changes, etc. The following summarises some of the major factors that
were identified as influencing the outcome of the economic development strategy.
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5.3.1 Continued Focus on Barrie’s Downtown
Barrie’s downtown and waterfront location represents one of the most significant assets for the city. It has
the opportunity to drive greater economic growth in the community, enhance and advance the city’s arts
and cultural offerings and realize on the attraction of more people to the downtown who could live and
work within the area. A significant number of participants in the public consultation process felt that the
city needs to advance its efforts to revitalize the downtown through the development of a hotel/conference
centre facility, a performing arts venue, improvements to the building inventory and improved signage that
directs people to and around the downtown.
5.3.2 Elevate the Marketing Efforts of the City
The current Barrie ‘brand’ needs to change to better reflect the aspirations and unique elements of the
community and better capitalize on the current potential for business investment and employment. The
City should undertake a marketing and branding strategy that is fresh, innovative yet practical and
commensurate with the level of community resources. The strategy should look to integrate a mix of
traditional and innovative marketing techniques that include the use of pod-casting, video stories, the
development of a photo library, entrepreneur story writing, tri-fold brochure, lead enquiry packages, etc. to
broaden the reach to include the regions of the GTA. The strategy should target the kinds of business and
the type of workforce the city is looking to attract over the medium and longer term.
5.3.3 Greater Emphasis on Enhancing Quality of Place
Barrie has an opportunity to focus on quality of place, by ensuring that the city continues to offer and
promote high quality cultural, heritage, recreational, and leisure facilities, supported by a range of events,
festivals and outdoor pursuits. This focus on quality of place and experience will ensure that the
community retains a high quality of life and continues to attract the young families and professionals that
will be needed in the knowledge based sectors and creative classes. A critical part of this will be the
implementation delivery of the downtown commercial and the City’s plan, and linking these to the further
development of the waterfront. The perception is the downtown is in need of significant work and that it is
a deterrent to the growth of the community.
5.3.4 Increase Levels of Business Support
In the 1970’s, ground breaking research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrated
that more and more job creation was coming from small and medium sized entrepreneurial companies.
Today it is estimated that 55% of all job creation comes from the growth of existing businesses while 45%
comes from new business start-ups. Only 1% of job creation comes from business relocation. While the
City of Barrie has shown considerable growth in the number of small businesses and the self employed,
this has been largely without public sector support. There are numerous examples of municipalities
coordinating and providing business support services which have heightened business creation and
growth. This can take the form of a business support office or in some communities a specific innovation
centre or incubator to provide a focus for activity. Developing greater support to businesses may also be
an excellent opportunity for the existing business community to participate in the success of the
community through mentoring new start-ups and small growth businesses.
5.3.5 Develop Health Care Sector
The medical and health care industry in Ontario is significant both in its financial contribution to the
economy and in its growth potential. The current expansion of Royal Victoria Hospital will create over
1,200 new jobs, but the hospital has a much greater role to play in the city’s economic development. The
hospital, combined with Georgian College’s recently opened Health and Wellness Centre and the medical
training facilities at CFB Borden create a significant concentration of economic activity in the health care
sector and an opportunity in health care education. These assets should be the focus of the health
industries a medical services industry in Barrie. This coupled with RVH’s planned expansion on a 50 acre
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parcel in Innisfil and ongoing discussions with McMaster University, represent an opportunity for Barrie to
take a greater leadership role in the development of a centre of excellence in health research and further
its efforts to grow its post-secondary presence. This concentration of activity can also be used to drive
the development of the medical equipment and supplies manufacturing industry.
5.3.6 Expand Post Secondary Education Opportunities
Many towns and cities across the Province have been successful in attracting post secondary institutions
to their community as way to ensure that their youth don’t have to leave to pursue a higher education and
as a means to provide business and industry with an available well educated and trained workforce (e.g.
Orangeville/Humber campus and Orillia/Lakehead campus). While Barrie benefits from the presence of
Georgian College, the impact of youth out-migration and a skilled workforce has not gone unnoticed. With
the growing popularity of continuing education and distance learning coupled with the need to equip our
workforce with the skills and talents to succeed in an era dominated by technological advancements, it is
an opportune time for the city to lead an initiative to develop a greater post secondary presence in the
community, that supports the growth of its target industries.
With Georgian College’s Strategic Plan process underway there is an opportunity for the city to identify
partnership opportunities that support the continued growth and presence of the College in the
community. This is particularly relevant in light on ongoing discussions about locating the college’s
business program in the downtown core and the recommendations in the City’s cultural plan that would
have the college’s School of Design and Visual Arts relocate to the downtown as well.
5.3.7 Develop Relationship with CFB Borden
CFB Borden, though not in Barrie, represents and opportunity to drive further synergies between the city
and the Canadian Forces base. There are examples of other communities (i.e. Belleville and CFB
Trenton) that have build strong working relationships with local Canadian Forces bases to help support
and develop the local economy. For example, CFB Borden is the Centre for training health services in
the Canadian Forces and it would be beneficial if this training function could be linked to the Royal
Victoria Hospital and the Centre for Health and Wellness at Georgian College. The synergies between
these three institutions could be a unique competitive advantage for the city. The base is also home to
the Canadian Forces Support Training Group (training in military support trades, such as cooks, financial
clerks, logisticians, engineers, fire fighters, etc); Canadian Forces Language School, and the Military
Police Academy. The City of Barrie should explore opportunities for a closer working relationship with
CFB Borden and Georgian College to identify and promote mutually beneficial projects.
5.3.8 Continued Support of Simcoe Regional Airport
Airports have been proven to be a critical locational factor for companies that rely on human capital and
operate in global markets, and even small regional airports can prove a substantial benefit to a
community. The Simcoe Regional Airport can be an important asset in the development of Barrie for
knowledge based and creative companies, by providing quick and easy access to Toronto as well as
national and international destinations. With the proposed closure of Buttonville Airport in Markham there
is an opportunity to attract airport related services to the Simcoe Regional Airport. The City should take a
leadership role in discussions with operators to ensure the long term viability of the airport. .
5.3.9 Focus on Creative Economy to Drive Growth
The economic base analysis has illustrated that the City of Barrie has a growing creative class. This
sector offers significant opportunities for future growth and development of the community in the form of
professional service firms, health care professionals and practitioners as well as the arts and culture.
Barrie also has a range of quality of life factors which would appeal to this segment of the economy. More
needs to be done however, to develop this aspect of the community such as greater support for the city’s
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arts and cultural community, development of office space likely to appeal to this segment of the economy.
While many businesses of this type can be accommodated in a store front location, there are many others
looking for alternative or collaborative working environments (e.g. Creative Spaces, SuiteWorks). Given
the significant number of small businesses in the community more consideration needs to given as to how
best to accommodate their growth.
5.3.10 Secure Office Park Development on Annexed Lands
The annexation of land from Innisfil provides the City of Barrie with sufficient space and land to
accommodate the expected growth as outlined in the province’s Places to Grow. Critical to this will be
the allocation and designation of employment lands that are intended for office and/or industrial uses.
With the considerable pressure to provide more retail, the city should give consideration to its long term
needs for employment growth and ensure that this reflects the demands of the types of industry and
business it is likely to attract. Those lands in proximity to Highway 400, with visibility and access to
Highway 400 should be considered for office uses, which will enable Barrie to better compete with
communities in the GTA in the attraction of prestige office space users and tenants.
5.3.11 Facilitate on Ongoing Dialogue with Local Business
Area businesses are often very appreciative of having an opportunity to provide their thoughts and ideas
as it relates to improving a local business environment, thus contributing to the economic health of their
community. The City should capitalize on the level of involvement that resulted from the stakeholder
consultation and business survey by identifying regular opportunities for input and recognition of these
efforts. This should reflect the broad base of business and industry and sectors present in the community.
5.3.12 Extend a Welcome to Newcomers
As is often the case in communities that are experiencing substantial growth, it is often difficult for
newcomers to integrate into their new communities. Given the rise in the number of newcomers, in
particular new immigrants the city should identify opportunities to better connect with newcomers to the
community, while embracing the new cultures that are also evident in the community.
5.4 Threats
The obvious measure of success for any economic development strategy will be how well a jurisdiction
capitalises on its opportunities in order to drive economic prosperity. Equally important however, is how
they address or manage the internal and external threats that may keep it from achieving their vision of a
vibrant and healthy community. The following discussion lays out the key threats facing the City of Barrie
in effectively implementing an economic development strategy.
5.4.1 Annexed Land not immediately available
The annexed land has great potential but will take some time before it is serviced and ready for any form
of development. Transportation infrastructure improvements will also be required including additional
access to Highway 400. If this process is protracted it will have a serious impact on the availability of land
to meet Barrie`s growth projections, thereby slowing the pace of economic growth in the community.
5.4.2 Declining Manufacturing Sector
Manufacturing output in Canada and Ontario, in particular has stagnated despite significant expansion in
key markets. Employment in this sector is down by in excess of 200,000 since the spring of 2004. The
much stronger Canadian dollar and high prices for energy as well as other materials have also
contributing to this decline. The recent downturn in the global economy has put further pressure on this
downward trend. The sector is expected to remain under pressure to make adjustments to what has
historically been an excessive reliance on low cost labour and labour intensive industries to drive growth.
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5.4.3 Traffic Congestion a Deterrent to Industry
Highway 400 is a significant arterial route for commuters southbound to the Greater Toronto Region.
Increasing traffic volumes, particularly in the summer months when the highway serves as a primary
access route to ‘cottage country’ are contributing to Barrie becoming an uncompetitive location for
businesses that transport time sensitive products.
5.4.4 Reliance on Quality of Life
Quality of life is highly subjective, and competitor communities across Ontario can equally claim to offer it.
For this reason it cannot be argued to be a competitive advantage for Barrie. The city should rely more on
demonstrating how it can provide a unique and authentic quality of place and experience that resonates
with a broader audience including would-be residents, investors, entrepreneurs and visitors.
5.4.5 Lack of Regional Collaboration
While there have been several attempts to market the region for investment and visitor attraction, most
notably the regional tourism marketing plan, regional collaboration efforts have been informal at best and
lack the capacity and focus to achieve sustainable long term results. The lack of a regional approach to
economic development diminishes the overall message of the opportunities and capacities for business
investment attraction that exist within the City of Barrie and by extension the County of Simcoe. However,
marketing and promotion must remain a key component of Barrie’s economic development activity and
one that must aim to ensure that the city is positioned effectively to attract the greatest interest and
investment.
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6 Strategic Directions
The City of Barrie’s recent economic development history has been a relative success story. It has
emerged as a primary urban growth centre in Southern Ontario and weathered the more recent
downturns in the provincial economy reasonably well, in contrast to other Ontario communities. It has
seen rapid economic growth and economic diversity, where quality of life and quality of place have
emerged as keystones to its population and employment growth and its popularity with residents and
visitors. But expectations as to the realization of opportunities afforded the community are increasing and
there is a prevailing sense that the community to needs to do better by better capitalizing on both its
assets and the talent of its people.
Coupled with these findings however, is the fact that both the global and provincial economies are
changing - rapidly and irreversibly. The decline of manufacturing in leading industrialized economies, the
aging of the baby boom generation, the dramatic increase in immigration and the implications for
Canada’s workforce, the rise of a highly mobile knowledge-based workforce – all of these new realities
hold the potential to shape and challenge Barrie’s opportunities for future growth.
For the city to embark on an economic development strategy at this time, requires a fresh approach.
While the traditional models of investment attraction remain viable, the city is also well positioned to take
a page from the approach of larger jurisdictions and better capitalize on the strengths and talent of its
workforce and the unique assets that contribute to its quality of life. As part of this effort, the city will be
able to better market and brand itself as progressive and responsive to both the demands of the
marketplace and ultimately its residents – those that live in the community now and those that will come
in the future.
6.1 Current Policy Framework
Having established the need for a framework for the delivery of economic development there are a
number of City-lead initiatives that also serve to impact and shape the direction for economic
development activity in the city. These include:
• City of Barrie, 20 year Plan – Foundation for our Future (2003)
• Downtown Commercial Master Plan (2005)
• Building a Creative Future: A Plan for Culture (2006)
• Tourism Barrie, Strategic Plan (2008)
• Lake Simcoe Tourism Area Assessment (2007)
• Economic Development Strategy, City of Barrie (2004)
Given the long term perspective that emerges with much of this work, many of the findings and direction
provided by these studies remains relevant to the development of a new economic development strategy
for the City of Barrie and are consistent with the priorities identified during the project’s consultation
process.
6.1.1 City of Barrie, 20 Year Plan – Foundation for Our Future
The Vision 2003-2023 document is intended to assist the City Corporation and Council with a framework
for identifying new community initiatives and key projects, and in the development of corporate business
plans. Key elements from this plan include a focus on:
• Economic Development to ensure a prosperous future, including a strong downtown with links
to the waterfront, support for existing businesses and new ventures
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• Maintaining Waterfront Excellence, including support for public ownership, community access,
recreation, tourism, and downtown revitalization
• A Clean and Healthy Environment that maintains ecological and environmental sensitivity
• Maintaining Transportation links within and beyond city borders
• Maintain and Enhance Barrie’s Premier Lifestyle through innovation and collaboration, and
encouraging diversity
• Maintain Governance and Service Excellence through a consultative approach to governance
and direct access to local council
• Planning for our Future by managing growth to maintain a strong community and healthy
environment
• ensuring Community Safety and Security including efficient and cost-effective emergency and
health related protection
The report’s emphasis on maintaining the city’s lifestyle and the quality of the city’s waterfront are major
considerations for the economic development strategy as they represent key elements in the
development of marketing and competitive positioning of the community, and the need to address further
investment in the downtown.
6.1.2 Downtown Commercial Master Plan (2006)
In 2005, the city initiated the Downtown Commercial Master Plan for the City’s downtown and waterfront
areas. The plan identified eight broad goals for the Downtown Area:
• Barrie’s Downtown and Waterfront Revitalization will build on the existing assets, anchor future
development to its history
• Protect the waterfront as public land with free access
• Keeping the land fronting Kempenfelt Bay public to allow public uses at all times
• Create a ‘’front porch experience’’ to the waterfront
• Develop waterfront activities for all seasons and users
• Achieve high-quality public spaces to attract high-quality private developments
• Establish a better balance between cars, cyclists, and pedestrians
• Encourage a mixed-use downtown and waterfront
This plan reinforces the need to address the ongoing revitalization of the city’s downtown and the need to
bring year round activity and animation to the core through heightened investment in the public realm, a
high quality built form environment and the attraction of key investment. The city’s economic development
strategy can play a role in achieving the vision for the downtown.
6.1.3 Building a Creative Future: A Plan for Culture (2006)
The Building a Creative Future Plan creates a 10-year plan for realizing the Arts in Barrie as a lifeenriching
and wealth-creating opportunity for the Downtown core. While cultural places and spaces were
identified all over the City, the plan places particular importance on the downtown core as the “first
cultural place” and the need to achieve a healthy, sustainable arts community, thoughtful consideration of
staged arts facility development, the attraction of culture-based opportunities and organizations to the
downtown and a sound marketing and business plan.
To address the issues restricting the arts and culture sector and to promote the sector as an economic
driver the plan makes recommendations in key areas:
• Oversight and Capacity Building, including the creation of an in-house Cultural Development
Office at the City of Barrie;
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• Facilities and Cultural Places, including facility development (Cultural Community Centre,
outdoor performing arts venue, permanent indoor/outdoor Market Hall), relocation of institutions
to the downtown core (Georgian College School of Design and Visual Arts, Laurentian University
performing arts), acquisition of strategic properties and retention of significant publicly-owned
properties for cultural development, upgrade facilities (Fisher Centre) to serve as an interim
performing arts centre
• Business Plan Recommendations including: supporting the creation and development of
artistic programming, sourcing and supporting investments from other levels of government and
organizations, review cultural facility development, co-ordinate with partners (CDO, EDO,
Tourism Barrie) in the marketing of arts and culture, commit to the downtown core as a principle
location of facility investment, align cultural plans with the downtown Commercial master Plan
(DCMP) to maximize downtown wealth creation.
The plan points out that by strategically investing in the arts and culture in the community the City will
achieve increased revenues for its businesses and entrepreneurs and a stronger tax base overall.
6.1.4 Tourism Barrie, Strategic Plan 2008
In response to the findings of the 2007 Premier-Ranked Tourist Destination Framework for the Lake
Simcoe Tourism Area, the 2008 Tourism Barrie Strategic Plan has incorporated the following
recommendations of the LSTA Assessment report:
• Clarify the role and function of the destination marketing organization in the LSTA
• Develop product-based partnerships that focus on experience and not geography
• Set up a task force to evaluate the training needs and recommend a training/education strategy
for tourism/hospitality employees and business owners/operators
• Develop and implement a strategy for developing, coordinating and enhancing regional tourism
events
• Ground decisions in marketing research to provide a solid foundation for decision making and
investment credibility
• Although branding will be critical to the success of marketing the tourism products of the area, it
should be delayed until progress has been made in achieving other recommendations
Tourism Barrie’s response has been to develop a strategic plan that focuses on:
• Building a strong destination management organization
• Developing assets and infrastructure that is competitive in the Central Ontario marketplace
• Continuing to strengthen Tourism Barrie’s advertising and promotion
A primary consideration for the economic development strategy is the need to reinforce the importance of
cultural tourism for the city in the form of opportunities for arts, theatre and cultural experiences, as well
as restaurants, dining and shopping. This has the potential to drive significant tourism spending in the
community, while also supporting a broad range of community goals.
6.1.5 Economic Development Strategy for the City of Barrie (2003)
The 2004 Economic Development Strategy for the City of Barrie articulated a “new course” for the quickly
expanding city: one that built on current strengths and created new strategies to build the City’s more
knowledge-intensive and value added sectors. As part of this effort the strategy identified several key
issues that needed to be addressed:
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• The need to articulate an Economic Development Vision and a plan for realizing it
• The need for more effective marketing of what Barrie already has in place
• Opportunities for growth built on strengths in manufacturing, tourism, and institutions
• The need to address quality of life issues highlighted gaps between demands on and supply of
infrastructure
• The need to move Barrie’s (perceived and real) position from that of a “blue collar” town to one of
a more knowledge intensive economy
• The need to bring new vitality and life to the downtown – making it a more comfortable and
appealing destination for residents, businesses and tourists
• The need to find ways to engage the talents and insights of the private sector in ways that
recognize its priorities and return value to its participation
• The need to respond constructively to the immediate growth pressures confronting Barrie
Many of these issues continue to be relevant today, and were raised repeatedly during the consultation
process conducted during the summer of 2009. In particular the 2004 Strategy identified the need to bring
vitality to the downtown, the need to move to a more knowledge intensive economy and the need for
more effective marketing.
6.2 Framing the Strategy
Any economic development strategy, to be successful, must focus on exploiting the competitive strengths
or advantages of a community. Based on the findings from the economic base analysis, the results of an
extensive community consultation process and an understanding of the existing policy environment in the
City of Barrie, several key themes emerged around which to frame an Economic Development Strategy.
These key themes are:
� Capitalize on Educational and Health Care Assets
� Attracting businesses, entrepreneurs and investment that will enhance the city’s health
and education assets
� Place Building
� Developing a “quality of place” that attracts both business and residents with the primary
focus on the city’s waterfront and downtown
� Target Strategic Growth
� Attracting business and industry that will sustain and grow the local and regional
economy by focusing on creative and technology based business and industries
� Strengthening our Business Community
� Enhancing support for small business start-ups and growing existing businesses
� Effective Marketing and Promotion
� Creating the right reputation and profile for the City – locally, nationally and internationally
These five themes are critical for the city of Barrie to address in order to see continued economic growth
and prosperity and point to the high level goals that the Economic Development Strategy should
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encompass. The justification for these areas (themes) of focus and recommended goals are described
below.
� Capitalize on Educational and Health Care Assets
The Canadian health industries sector is defined by a broad range of industry activity that includes drugs
and pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment manufacturing, research testing and medical
laboratories. Add to this equation the broad range of practitioners that make up the healthcare delivery
system itself and you begin to define the range of often intertwined activity that is occurring within one of
the fastest growing global industry sectors.
Provincially, the health sector is a significant contributor to the economy. Currently valued at $31 billion,
the health sector represents 6.8% of the province’s GDP. Health related expenditures are set to increase
to $47.4 billion by 2011-12, with projections suggesting that the sector will continue to post strong growth
over the longer term.
The health sector is already a significant contributor to both the local and regional economies. It employs
9.2% of the city’s workforce, up from 8.9% in 2001 and is the third largest employment sector in the city
behind manufacturing and retail and one of only three sectors that currently attracts workers from outside
the community. Workers employed in health care and health care related occupations in Barrie are also
growing – up 30.3% between 2001 and 2006 (compared to the Ontario average of 19.9%). This has
included workers in health care service delivery but also other health care professionals and related
knowledge based workers that support a growing value chain of economic activity in the city.
Growth of this sector in Barrie is expected to continue with the $400 million expansion of the Royal
Victoria Hospital currently underway and the addition of a further 1,200 direct health care related jobs in
the community. Coupled with the future expansion of the RVH on a 50 acre parcel of land in Innisfil and a
desire to increase its capacity for research and development in the region, the hospital has become a
driving force for change in the community. The recent announcement of $65 million Centre for Health and
Wellness at Georgian College and opportunities for an additional 3,000 students in health related studies
gives further strength to the emerging role of the city as a hub for health care investment in the province.
The health and wellness sector represents a significant growth opportunity for Barrie as it will drive the
growth of a more knowledge intensive workforce around which innovation and creativity are central. To
achieve this however, the city must take a lead role in ensuring that the community can attract and retain
the necessary skilled workforce, understanding the needs of the sector, and identifying and filling gaps in
the sector, such as the need for university based research and development capacity.
In delivering on this opportunity the strategy has established the following goal:
goal 1: The City of Barrie will establish the community as a regional Centre of Excellence
for Health and Wellness by facilitating projects that advance research & development,
innovation, investment, and business growth in the health industries.
� Place Building
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Conventional wisdom would argue that if the jobs are available, the workers will follow, but the new
economy doesn’t often follow these rules. Because the demand for talented people outstrips supply,
these highly skilled workers can essentially choose where to live and where to work. When it comes to
choosing where to locate, knowledge workers have definite shopping lists, -- and cities and regions that
seek to attract them do well to know what they want.
In this respect the city of Barrie’s downtown and its proximity and connections to its waterfront represents
one of the community’s major assets and a significant point on which to differentiate the city from other
communities in its attraction and retention of a skilled and talented workforce.
However, one of the primary concerns that emerged from both the focus groups and the wider
consultation effort was the need to continue with revitalization efforts. While substantial investment has
been made to the city’s waterfront, the downtown core continues to be seen as un-inviting, and un-safe
during evening hours and not enough of a feature in the community to attract residents and visitors or the
businesses needed to grow the local economy. In short, greater efforts are required to bring year round
activity and animation to the core that will position the downtown as a destination within the city. There
are many examples of communities across Canada and the U.S. where heightened investment in the
city’s public realm (parks, trails, libraries, galleries, centres for higher learning, performing arts, cultural
events etc.) coupled with a high quality built form and retention of historic character has stimulated private
sector interest and investment and lead to the regeneration of a city’s downtown.
The revitalization of the downtown has been a significant issue in Barrie for many years. The City’s 20
year plan identifies the waterfront excellence including downtown revitalization as a key consideration for
the community. The importance of a revitalized downtown has also been supported by the 2004
Economic Development Strategy, as well as the Cultural Plan (2006) and Tourism Barrie’s Strategic Plan.
Both the cultural plan and the recent tourism strategy point to the importance of the core as a location for
cultural activities within the city. The city’s Downtown Commercial Master Plan also sets out an ambitious
long term vision for the development/redevelopment of the downtown further reinforcing the idea that the
downtown can and should play a more significant role in the future and character of the community.
Key development sites, such as the proposed Convention Centre, require substantial private sector
investment and as a result remain undeveloped. Other properties remain in private ownership and
beyond the influence and control of the City. However, in the same way that the City of Barrie has
demonstrated it support for the health and education sectors through its investment in expansion projects
at Royal Victoria Hospital and Georgian College, the City must also understand and appreciate the role
and impact that public sector investment can have in the downtown and the opportunity that it creates to
spur additional private sector development. A healthy and vibrant downtown not only attracts business
investment and visitors to the core, thus adding to a municipality’s tax base, it is also a consideration in
the attraction of workers to the city and business investment more broadly.
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In delivering on this opportunity the strategy has established the following goal:
goal 2: The City of Barrie will enable the development of a vibrant downtown that is recognized
for its quality of place and diverse range of natural and arts and cultural experiences.
� Target Strategic Growth
The economic base analysis has identified a number of key sectors where there is a high labour force or
business concentration suggesting a local competitive advantage for this form of investment and
economic growth. These needs of these sectors and the business they comprise will differ making it vitally
important that the city engage with the companies in these sectors to better understand how to assist and
grow these industries. This will mean becoming better informed of the individual and sector based supply
chain opportunities which will enable growth and inform investment attraction efforts. With as much as
80% of all new business investment being derived from existing business within any given community,
this effort should become a priority for the city of Barrie.
With the manufacturing sector in decline across the province, it is still the largest industry segment in the
city with more than 10,000 people working across a broad range of industry subsectors both in and
outside of Barrie. Despite the dramatic shifts at the provincial level, manufacturing is expected to remain
an important part of the local economy. To ensure that Barrie’s manufacturers continue to succeed the
city needs to provide enhanced support to enable the emergence of new niche and export markets. Like
manufacturing, the transportation and warehousing and wholesale sectors have suffered with the recent
economic downtown, though it is expected to make a recovery in 2010 as the economy improves. With
over 7,500 jobs currently in Barrie, the city’s significant transport infrastructure and proximity to the GTA,
a growing regional airport and continued local and regional population growth, growth in the
transportation and warehousing and wholesale sectors is expected to expand.
Barrie has also shown substantial growth in the construction sector, with employment growing 13.4%
from 2001 to 2006. While much of this growth can be attributed to the population growth of the city and
the surrounding region and GTA, Barrie has also demonstrated a significant concentration of talent and
experience in several important sub-sectors including: utility system construction, highway, street and
bridge construction, and foundation, structure and building construction. These sub-sectors are expected
to be high growth industries in the future as they are seen as being on the front line of the green economy
(e.g. development and application of green building technologies, development of clean energy
alternatives and heightened demand for environmentally friendly products and services). Given the
presence of Georgian College’s new Sustainable Technologies Centre, the city is well positioned to
capitalize on the growing demand for construction workers, technicians and technologists required by
these construction sub-sectors both in terms of providing the needed skilled workforce but also in the
attraction of new businesses looking to capitalize on the research and development efforts of the College.
The Professional, Scientific + Business Services Sector is another target sector opportunity for the city of
Barrie. These knowledge-based workers and associated businesses represent a key component of the
city’s growing creative economy which places a priority on creativity, knowledge and innovation to
generate economic growth – the future of a service based economy. Currently creative workers comprise
only 30% of the city’s workforce, and while this suggests the city is lagging behind other comparable
communities, the higher wages, specialized skills and innovative capacity of these individuals and
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usinesses has substantial implications for the city’s economic growth and its broader development as
regional economy.
Attracting and growing investment in these sectors will require greater collaboration between the City,
business and entrepreneurs, post secondary institutions and industry associations. It will also be
important for the City to engage all levels of government, including Simcoe County to ensure that
businesses remain competitive and continue to drive the local and regional economy.
In delivering on this opportunity the strategy has established the following goal:
goal 3: The City of Barrie will be strategic in its approach to economic growth by engaging with
business, entrepreneurs, institutions and all levels of government to ensure that its economy is
globally competitive, profitable and sustainable.
� Strengthening our Business Community
There is no question that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the engines of growth in
Canada employing more than 55% of all working individuals in the country. Whether located in an urban
or rural location, they play an integral part of the local and national economy and represent an opportunity
to drive future economic growth that cannot go unnoticed.
For its part, the city of Barrie has seen a 55.6% increase in the number of businesses in the community
over the last five years and a 114% increase in the number of self employed or start up businesses. This
suggests a strong entrepreneurial culture but as importantly, the appeal of the community for small
business growth. In fact 72.8% of all business in the city has less than 10 employees. In addition, much of
the business growth that has occurred in recent years has come from small business operations.
Despite this performance, the lack of support from the City for small and medium sized businesses and
entrepreneurs emerged as a major theme throughout the public consultation process and a major
challenge for local business. Where there is support for SMEs, it was felt to be uncoordinated, underresourced
and not geared to the needs of businesses that will provide the city with real economic growth
opportunities.
In a recent survey of SME’s conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, business
owners were asked to rate the performance of their communities in providing a good environment for
small business development. While areas outside of the large urban city centres fared better than the
large cities themselves, the City of Barrie ranked 65 th out of 100 behind Belleville, Oshawa, Greater
Sudbury, Orillia, Cornwall, Thunder Bay, North bay and Sault Ste. Marie.
Some of the more telling indicators, that reaffirms the issues raised through the course of the consultation
was the fact that 57.9% of business survey felt that the cost of local government was a burden to their
operations; only 40% of all businesses surveyed felt that local government was sensitive to the needs of
local business; and 76.2% of businesses survey felt that local government regulation and paper burden
was a major concern for their business. Only 38.2% of businesses survey reported the general state of
their business as good.
Given the predominance of small and medium sized businesses in the community and the need to attract
and retain these businesses in the future to ensure a strong rate of economic growth, it becomes
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essential that the city look to new and more innovative ways with which to support the growth of
entrepreneurs and innovators.
In delivering on this opportunity the strategy has established the following goal:
goal 4: The City of Barrie, with the support of all levels of government and the private sector,
will become a regional centre for business support and innovation that will drive SME growth
and entrepreneurship.
� Effective Marketing and Promotion
The city of Barrie, has a remarkable range and variety of assets that contribute to the overall quality of
place experience making it an attractive location for business, residents and visitors. While efforts need to
continue as it relates to the development of the community on the ‘product’ side, marketing and promotion
is an essential component of any economic development effort; one that must aim to ensure that a City is
positioned effectively and creates the right reputation and profile to attract the greatest interest and
investment from those that may be considering the city as a location to do business, invest, live or visit. A
marketing effort that is geared only to target sector investment attraction efforts will not prove sustainable
or completely successful over the longer term. The times require a more unique and bolder effort.
A clear and distinctive identity is essential in the attraction of both people and investment to a city
especially in today’s highly competitive environment. The impact of global markets and competition from
within Canada means that cities, regardless of their size must be proactive in responding to the growing
trend of international migration, rising levels of education worldwide, the growth of information and
technology and the heightened flow of financial investment into foreign markets.
Throughout the consultation process associated with the development of the strategy, an external lack of
awareness of Barrie was identified as a prevailing issue for the community and an ongoing concern for
business. This issue is particularly acute in the commercial-industrial real estate sector where Barrie is
seen as a small local market rather than contributing to the growth of the GTA making it difficult to attract
the attention of investors. A more effective branding and marketing effort should be a priority for the city.
This is not the first time this issue has been raised. The 2004 Economic Development Strategy also
identified the need for an effective marketing strategy as a priority consideration for the City. The impact
of today’s marketplace requires a renewed effort to reflect the aspirations and unique elements of the
community, as well its potential for business investment and employment. This includes focusing on local
business success, opportunities for small business growth and innovation, strategies for attracting
residents and entrepreneurs across the creative industries and a more concerted effort to attract new
Canadians to the city.
In delivering on this opportunity the strategy has established the following goal:
goal 5: The City of Barrie will develop an identifiable, dynamic and consistent marketing
message that will attract new business and entrepreneurs by promoting Barrie’s business
strengths, the quality of its workforce and its exceptionable liveability factors.
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6.3 Setting the Vision
In preparing the City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy we have built upon the VISION
established in the City of Barrie’s Foundation for the Future, to be an exciting, caring and progressive
community. The strategies make a strong commitment to the growth and prosperity of Central Ontario’s
leading city and most dynamic waterfront community.
A key consideration in this regard was the need to articulate a shifting role for the City of Barrie in matters
of economic development. The resulting MANDATE for the City of Barrie Economic Development
department is built around 5 broad goals that reflect the findings of this report, as well as the input
received from the general public and business community.
The GOALS and associated ACTIONS that follow are built around the city assuming a greater leadership
role with respect to the city’s economic growth and a more effective approach to the development and
implementation of sustainable economic development practices.
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the vision City of Barrie is an exciting, caring, and
Building on the vision of our community established in the City of Barrie’s 20 year Foundation for the
Future, the city’s economic development strategy will further the city’s efforts to be an exciting,
caring, and progressive community. The goals and actions represent a strong commitment
to the growth and prosperity of Central Ontario's leading city and most dynamic waterfront
community.
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the mandate
For the City of Barrie to consolidate its position as a vibrant and successful community in the Toronto
Centre Region economy, it is essential to manage the vision for sustainable economic growth by
pursuing strategies that build on the talent of our workforce and investments in community infrastructure,
while supporting the continued success of our institutions and business community.
The five goals for the City of Barrie’s Economic Development Strategy are:
1. The City of Barrie will establish the community as a regional Centre of Excellence for
Health and Wellness by facilitating projects that advance research & development,
innovation, investment, and business growth in the health industries.
2. The City of Barrie will continue to enable the development of a vibrant downtown that is
recognized for its quality of place and diverse range of natural and arts and cultural
experiences.
3. The City will be strategic in its approach to economic growth by engaging with business,
entrepreneurs, institutions and all levels of government to ensure an economy that is
globally competitive, profitable and sustainable.
4. The City of Barrie, with the support of all levels of government and the private sector, will
become a regional centre for business support and innovation that will drive SME growth
and entrepreneurship.
5. The City of Barrie will develop an identifiable, dynamic and consistent marketing message
that will attract new business and entrepreneurs by promoting Barrie’s business
strengths, the quality of its workforce and its exceptionable liveability factors.
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the actions
Goal 1:
The City of Barrie will establish the community as a regional Centre of Excellence
for Health and Wellness by facilitating projects that advance research &
development, innovation, investment, and business growth in the health
industries.
Barrie’s greatest economic asset is the Royal Victoria Hospital, which along with the development of
Georgian College’s Centre for Health and Wellness, will see $465 million in capital investment and the
creation of 1,600 new health related jobs in Barrie over the next three years. Their importance of this
sector, however, goes far beyond the jobs and investment that it will directly bring to the community; it
can become a focus for growing new businesses and enterprises, and attracting new residents and
workers to the community, particularly those in the creative classes.
The hospital and the health care sector can also become a focal point around which to develop a
knowledge and innovation driven economy. Knowledge and innovation have become critical economic
drivers, and the health care sector is a primary source of these. Statistics Canada estimated that
Canadian university and affiliated teaching hospitals reported more that $59 million as income from
intellectual property, and reported more than 1,356 new inventions 35 .
Perhaps the only caveat to Barrie’s health care assets is the lack of a university presence. Other
comparator communities, such as Kingston and Peterborough have universities and have been able to
leverage their institutions to develop strong economies based on innovation and creativity. While
Georgian’s University Partnership program is important initiative, it may not offer the range and level of
degrees needed to be a strong catalyst for growth.
Objective
To strengthen Barrie’s existing health industries sector through a greater understanding of the needs and
opportunities within its existing businesses and institutions.
Actions
1. Establish a Health Sector Working Group, consisting of Royal Victoria Hospital and Georgian
College, as well as related manufacturing and health services companies (e.g. Southmedic)
to guide the Economic Development Department’s efforts in developing and attracting the
health industries sector to Barrie.
2. Undertake a detailed value chain assessment of key assets within the local and regional
health industries sector e.g. manufacturing (e.g. medical device manufacturing),
35 Statistics Canada, 2006 Survey of Intellectual property commercialization in the Higher Education Sector (358-0025)
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Objective
logistics/distribution and research and development (e.g. clinical trials, product development,
process improvement), health sciences and education to demonstrates the strengths and
weaknesses associated with the growth of these industries in the city of Barrie.
3. Create and maintain a database of existing assets and related health industries sector
information that will allow the City to assess and evaluate ongoing development of the sector.
To expand the health industries sector in Barrie though the attraction of new businesses and health care
investment to the community.
Actions
1. Develop a Health Industries Sector Strategy that evaluates the opportunities to attract a
broader range of related business and investment to the community and identifies how the
city of Barrie can best support the growth of this sector.
2. Develop a marketing strategy and community profile that can be used in attraction of health
industries investment and the recruitment of education and health care professionals to the
city. Include a focus on the growing diversity of the community, heightened quality of place
and what it means to live in Barrie. This could include a welcome pack for new residents.
3. In partnership with Royal Victoria Hospital, build a business case for attracting McMaster
University to the community as part of the hospital’s future expansion plans.
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Goal 2:
The City of Barrie will continue to enable the development of a vibrant downtown
that is recognized for its quality of place and liveability and diverse range of
natural and arts and cultural experiences.
The rise of knowledge-based industries and a new creative class of workers has altered the dynamics of
economic development by accentuating the importance of quality of life and depth of culture to local
economies. To attract – or even retain – the vital workforce that will drive future economic development
opportunities, Barrie must focus on creating a sense of place, with vibrant, creative and engaging
community amenities. Creating this “sense of place” is perhaps nowhere more important and visible than
in a city’s downtown, which is often described as the “living room of the community” and is where the first
impression (and often a lasting impression) of the community is formed.
Barrie’s existing downtown revitalization plans have, for a number of reasons, stalled and in order to drive
the redevelopment of the downtown the City of Barrie must take the lead in creating and sustaining an
environment that supports and encourages investment by the private sector. Support for direct municipal
investment in major downtown projects can:
• lever greater private sector involvement;
• bring a return on investment through its positive impact on economic activity and consequently on
property values; and
• serve as a support for the growth of downtown residential development.
Barrie’s downtown needs to be a focus of civic pride for the entire community and to function as a
gathering place for residents and a destination for visitor all year round. The downtown should act as a
showcase for the city’s history, architecture, arts and culture, and its prosperity.
Objective
To position the downtown as a major focal point for the community and a showcase for the city’s history,
architecture, arts and culture and economic prosperity.
Actions
1. Revisit the Downtown Commercial Master Plan and identify two or three priority projects
around which the City will focus their attention and efforts over the next 5 years. These
should be strategic in nature, include investment in the public realm and be located in
prominent locations or gateways to the downtown. The City should:
a. Give priority to the development of a Community Cultural Centre, as laid out in the
city’s Cultural Plan. This project should be lead by the City to ensure its timely
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construction and should integrate Georgian College’s visual arts and design
programs in the project.
b. Facilitate the relocation of Georgian College programs, such as the business school
and visual arts programs, to the downtown, as a way of bringing more activity, youth
and vibrancy to the core.
c. Improve connectivity to the downtown from all areas of the City, but in particular the
south of Barrie, utilising non-car related modes, such as trail ways and pedestrian
and bicycle paths.
2. The City should continue to expedite the development of the Allandale site and ensure that
this site is linked to and supports the efforts to revitalize the downtown, in particular through
improved connectivity to the core.
3. In anticipation of the dramatic development that will occur in the downtown in the years to
come, the City should establish design guidelines to ensure that future developments
produce a consistent high quality image and feel for the core.
4. Engage local businesses, landowners and the development community to assess the
effectiveness of the Community Improvement Plan for the downtown and to identify ways of
improving take-up of programs, such as facade improvement programs and tax incremental
financing to spur development and re-development of properties in the core.
5. Undertake a cultural and creative mapping exercise that identifies creative places and spaces
in the community that appeal at a local and regional level. Use public and outdoor public
spaces to showcase the community’s creativity through public art, events, exhibits etc.
6. Create a City Centre Prospectus that can be used to attract new business interest and
investment to the city’s downtown and make it available on the city’s economic development
website. Highlight the ongoing and planned investment for the downtown area, the increasing
residential and workforce population in the downtown area, the potential to attract new
residential growth to a prime waterfront location and the site specific development
opportunities. Develop a campaign for promoting of these opportunities to the regional,
national and international investment community.
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Goal 3:
The City will be strategic in its approach to economic growth by engaging with
business, entrepreneurs, institutions and all levels of government to ensure an
economy that is globally competitive, profitable and sustainable
While investment attraction – bringing businesses from outside the community into the community – is an
exciting and glamorous concept, its actual impact on local economies is often minimal. The most
significant driver of new business growth will always be the expansion of existing local firms, either by
organic growth, or through the development of new ventures, products and services based on an
entrepreneurial vision. In this respect the City must prioritize its efforts to understand where this
expansion is likely to occur, and to work with and support its businesses to ensure that those expansions
take place within the City of Barrie whenever possible.
The City of Barrie needs to have a greater engagement with businesses in the target sectors to better
understand what support is required by them and to identify opportunities for growth. This will ensure that
the existing businesses in these sectors remain strong and will open up opportunities for the broadening
of the sector in the community. Other local and regional partners, as well as provincial and federal
agencies, can also provide critical support to these sectors and the City should be building relationships
with these organisations to help the development of the sector in Barrie.
Objective
To strengthen Barrie’s key target sectors through improved understanding of the needs of local business
and industry.
Actions
1. Business retention and expansion should become an integral component of the City’s
Economic Development department. The program should address the needs of business
and industry on a sector by sector basis with an emphasis on SMEs in each of the target
sectors. The City should:
a. Work with companies in each target sector to identify local supply chain opportunities
and to identify supply chain gaps that may become investment attraction targets.
b. Consult with business on the need for more functional and program support such as
seminars and training opportunities that deal with succession planning, marketing
plans, export plans, and business expansion opportunities.
c. Establish a small group of respected business ambassadors that will be involved in
the BR&E efforts, as well as the City’s marketing and promotional efforts.
d. Establish annual measurable expectations on the number of business owners and
managers that will be met in each sector.
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Objective
2. Develop comprehensive Industry Sector profiles that clearly illustrate the city’s competitive
advantages and value proposition for business investment in each of its target sectors. This
should include a well developed understanding of key firms in the region, the global reach
and influence of these companies, the level of innovation and commercialization efforts that is
occurring, and the extent of and investment in R+D that is being lead or developed by the
city’s academic and health institutions, the extent and type of collaborative and partnerships
efforts that are being supported and the development and deployment of new technologies,
and the level of supporting infrastructure in the community. This information should form the
basis of Barrie’s competitive advantage (or business case for investment) and the key
messaging presented in marketing and promotion brochures. Ensure the profiles include a
talent-focused branding component and convey a sense of authenticity and credibility that
comes from having local businesses and entrepreneurs tell their ‘stories’.
To enhance the educational opportunities in the city, increase Georgian College’s engagement with
businesses and to better utilize education as a driver of economic development.
Actions
1. Provide ongoing input to Georgian College’s strategic planning exercise to ensure that
programs and courses support the city’s target industry sectors, workforce development
needs and attraction of creative workers and enterprise, emerging technologies and training
for the green economy. This is particularly relevant to the city’s construction sector and
related specialty trades as well as the alternative energy and utilities sector as these workers
are on the front line of the global shift to a green economy.
2. Promote the new Centre for Sustainable Technologies and the Centre for Health and
Wellness, provincially, nationally and internationally to attract new students, partners and
companies to the region. The new curriculum, in particular the utilities/alternative
energy/construction sector – represents an opportunity to raise Barrie’s profile in advanced
construction trades and ‘trade’ on the expertise of local firms in attracting an international
audience for the local workforce, graduates and expertise.
3. Pursue opportunities to create a centre of excellence that is focused the application of
sustainable technologies in the green economy.
4. In partnership with Georgian College promote the College’s co-op opportunities to local and
regional businesses and enterprises.
5. Work with Georgian College to understand the potential of their University Partners and the
potential to increase their presence in the community, in particular those that could establish
a university campus (e.g. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) in the city.
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Objective
To better leverage the programs and resources available from regional institutions and all other levels of
government in a way that will enable growth of the city’s existing businesses and target sectors.
Actions
Objective
1. The City should identify ways to increase its level of involvement with its national and
provincial economic development partners, particularly those that are focused on export
development and external investment, attraction and expansion, such as Industry Canada,
Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Invest Ontario, Ontario Exports, and the
Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services.
2. Proactively engage with provincial and national sector support organizations, such as the
Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC), Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
(CME), Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA), and Regional Innovation Networks to
promote and deliver initiatives designed to enhance overall competitiveness of businesses in
the target sectors.
3. The growth of Barrie has been, and will continue to be, intrinsically linked to the Greater
Toronto Area, and the City should become actively involved in economic development
organizations in the GTA and Toronto Centred Region. This should include but not be limited
to organizations like the GTMA, TRRA, MEDT, York Biotech etc.
4. The City of Barrie must continue to demonstrate leadership by pursing and advocating for
strategic and collaborative economic development efforts in Simcoe County. This is attributed
to the labour flow between municipalities, but particularly relevant with respect to the local
and regional tourism industry. The City must advocate for a collaborative and regional
approach to both the development and marketing of the region’s tourism product and
experience, in order to increase the length of time visitors spend in the community and the
better capitalize on the resulting financial impact of tourism dollars.
To ensure that the Barrie has sufficient serviced, quality employment land with which to accommodate the
growth of its key target sectors.
Actions
1. Maintain and enhance the existing inventory of industrial properties (including the city’s
vacant land inventory), integrating a broader range of online GIS capabilities to map and
detail Barrie’s industrial and commercial inventory.
2. As part of the secondary plan process for the Innisfil annexation, designate lands in proximity
to Highway 400 for higher intensity, higher value industrial and office development. Higher
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intensity refers specifically to companies and activities that generate greater tax revenue
through capital investment and higher wage employment.
3. Review the city’s current tax regime to ensure the competitiveness of the current tax structure
relative to other similar sized communities as a way to stimulate private sector investment.
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Goal 4:
The City of Barrie, with the support of all levels of government and the private
sector, will become a regional centre for business support and innovation that
will drive SME growth and entrepreneurship
The vital role of small business in a local or provincial economy cannot be underestimated. Small
businesses represent the vast majority of firms in Canada, collectively employing almost one-half of the
workers in the private sector and contributing significantly to job creation across all sectors of the
economy. In addition, the creativity and risk-taking by means of which many of these enterprises thrive
are important sources of industrial renewal and dynamism, helping our economy adjusts to a rapidly
changing world. 36 The high percentage of small businesses in Barrie (72.8% have less than 10
employees) coupled with the growth in this sector of the economy (55.6% increase in 5 years) makes it
vitally important that the City understand the needs and support required by this segment of its economy.
Important to the development of new businesses in a knowledge-based economy is the support of
entrepreneurs with the development of innovative ideas and products. The creation of new innovative
ideas requires more intensive and different types of support, including mentoring, networking, links to
academic institutions, as well as the space where entrepreneurs can exchange information and
knowledge, such as www.jumpup.com. Barrie should follow the lead of many knowledge based
communities and consider establishing incubation or innovation centres to support this important segment
and drive the development new innovative businesses.
Objective
To improve access to available business support services and further enable the development of the
city’s future entrepreneurs.
Actions
1. Work with federal and provincial business support agencies to consolidate small business
and business start up resources (e.g. Business Enterprise Resource Network, Service
Canada etc.) in a single location preferably in the downtown core.
2. Evaluate existing business support services in the city of Barrie in order to ensure that
services meet the needs of value-added small businesses and reflect the transfer of state of
the art technology to small business practice.
3. Improve the City’s online resource tool to better enable start ups / small business to access
all major resources available to business, such as where to receive training, how to prepare a
business plan, advice and technical and financial assistance etc. (e.g. www.gpaedc.ca).
36 http://www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/sme_1008.pdf, October 2008.
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Objective
4. Involving the city’s youth and young adults in creative economy initiatives is important from
the perspective of retaining a young, skilled workforce. The City should encourage more coop
programming from Georgian College as it relates to the creative industries in order to
diversify the types of training and employment opportunities youth might seek in the city.
5. Promote the Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Summer Company Program
within Georgian College to encourage students to start and operate and summer business in
Barrie. The City should provide a matching financial bursary to students that successfully
complete the program.
6. Host a community business plan competition for post secondary students in technology
related fields as way to foster innovation and youth entrepreneurship.
To better capitalize on the level of innovation in the community by providing enhanced business support
services to local companies and entrepreneurs and promoting greater collaboration in priority sectors.
Actions
1. Establish a “Barrie Innovation Team” consisting of key stakeholders in the community, to
drive innovation in the community by creating local networking linkages, building local
“match-making” opportunities and to responding to local business needs.
2. Initiate discussions with the Innovation Synergy Centre in Markham (ISCM) to develop a
partnership operation in Barrie that will advance the growth of existing innovative companies
and entrepreneurship in the community. Formalize the partnership by providing ISCM with
business meeting space in city hall or the city’s Economic Development Department.
3. Assign resources to communicate and market the ISCM opportunity to the local and regional
business community through local newsletters or sector based newsletters (e.g. York Angel
Investors Inc.) that already actively draw Barrie businesses.
4. In conjunction with ISCM, identify local mentors that can provide support to Barrie’s growing
economy, focusing on the professional and technical service and business service firms (e.g.
senior managers, legal and accounting services) as well as manufacturers, and other creative
industries. Place an ad in the local newspaper to invite people to participate in a networking
session that will advance the ICSM programming and service offering in the community.
5. Develop a plan to communicate and promote new “Barrie-born” innovators to the wider
business community as a means of encouraging and spurring innovation among other
businesses.
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Goal 5:
The City of Barrie will develop an identifiable, dynamic and consistent marketing
message that will attract new business and entrepreneurs by promoting Barrie’s
business strengths, the quality of its workforce and its exceptionable liveability
factors
The City of Barrie has a significant range and variety of natural and cultural assets in its community.
However, for a city of its size, it cannot afford to be complacent or content with its current quality of place
attributes – continued investment and upgrading of those attributes and assets that contribute to a high
quality of life experience is required. In today’s global and highly networked world, cities are increasingly
the focus of an international competition for funds, talent and fame. This competitive environment is the
new reality and how a city stakes out and communicates its distinctive place within it largely decides
which cities succeed and which falter in the race for economic prosperity. To this end, “places are just like
companies: those with a strong brand find it much easier to sell their products and services and attract
people and investment” 37 .
A new and distinctive identity for the City of Barrie is essential to the attraction of both people and
investment to the city in today’s highly competitive environment. Given its size and expected growth in the
coming years, the City of Barrie has both the need and capacity to create a bold image of itself as a ‘new’
urban community, with a commitment to business, arts and culture and a quality of experience that
benefits both residents and business alike.
Objective
To develop and implement a broad based economic development marketing and branding strategy for
Barrie that will enhance the city’s overall brand equity.
Actions
1. Develop a powerful, bold and sophisticated web site for economic development that can
quickly and frequently be updated and that represents the emerging image of the City – both
its people and its business community.
2. Develop a business investment and community profile document that captures the ‘authentic’
Barrie and presents the key messages and value proposition that defines today’s Barrie. The
profile should be used as a business and workforce recruitment tool.
3. Assemble local business and entrepreneurial stories that celebrate the range and growing
diversity of the city’s business community and integrate the stories into local and national
newspapers, promotional campaigns, e-newsletter or the city’s website.
37 Branding Your City, CEO’s for Cities. 2006
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Objective
4. Develop an internet strategy that is focused on the attraction of business, entrepreneurs and
families and includes the use of social networking tools (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn
etc.) to enhance promotional efforts, and a linking strategy for external resources and
economic development partners.
5. Launch an aggressive promotional outreach campaign—in partnership with the private sector
and economic development partners—to tell the story of Barrie to important target audiences,
including companies, investors, younger people, and opinion-leaders regionally, provincially.
6. Identify the “50 Organizations We Need to Know” to effectively advance a strong, diverse and
sustainable local economy.
7. Develop an annual report which profiles major investment successes, new development,
infrastructure improvements and features significant businesses and entrepreneurial
accomplishments over the previous year. Send to business, the development community,
GTA based ICI real estate brokers etc. to inform their thinking of the opportunities associated
with investing in the city.
To more effectively promote the key strengths and assets of the community as part of a targeted
approach to marketing the city of Barrie.
Actions
1. Undertake joint marketing efforts with key stakeholders in the community (e.g. Royal Victoria
Hospital, Georgian College, Chamber of Commerce etc.) as a way to enhance the profile of
the community to a broader investment community.
2. Target lifestyle entrepreneurs and creative enterprises as part of local marketing campaigns
and promotional efforts, in particular those types of entrepreneurs that have a tendency to
freelance, telecommute, or operate a local business. Work with organizations like Creative
Spaces and SuiteWorks to develop entrepreneurial business profiles that tell the ‘Barrie
Story.’
3. In coordination with downtown revitalization efforts, develop appropriate communications and
marketing materials that bring attention to the downtown as a key investment location in the
city. This could include: a downtown prospectus or business plan, downtown promotional
brochure, a downtown section on the economic development web site, listing of events for
downtown visitor attraction and advertising/promotion of downtown businesses, increased
signage to downtown.
4. Undertake a regular evaluation of the city’s cultural tourism promotional activities to ensure
the delivery of a progressive and sophisticated marketing message.
5. Work in partnership with the County of Simcoe to effectively brand and market the broader
economic region as a premier location for people and business.
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7 Performance Monitoring and Metrics
7.1 City Roles and Responsibilities
Though economic development has at its core the economic growth and development of a community,
how this is achieved can vary greatly from community to community. There is a broad scope and variety
of projects that are considered to be “economic development”. These include delivering services for
small businesses and entrepreneurs, business investment attraction, business retention and expansion,
tourism marketing, workforce training, physician recruitment, community beautification, brownfield
redevelopment, downtown revitalization, shop local programs and special events.
As economic development is most commonly funded through municipal resources a key consideration for
any economic development office is demonstrating that they are meeting the goals set for them.
Economic development departments must have an effective means of measuring their performance and
showing that they are delivering to the goals and objectives for the community.
7.1.1 Performance Measurement
Performance measurement is a tool to determine how well a job has been done using both qualitative and
quantitative information and activities. A lack of clear measurements (or the communication of them) is
one of the key reasons why economic development practices fail. The following reasons make it
important to track activity and performance.
• Providing public accountability
• Assisting with human resources management
• Using results to improve performance
• Identifying the return on investment
An effective Economic Development Office must perform, measure and communicate these results.
Unfortunately, performance measurement in economic development is not a common practice. To date,
it has been unaffected by the Government of Ontario’s Municipal Performance Measurement Program,
which has set guidelines for almost all other aspects of municipal service delivery including road
maintenance, emergency services and governance.
This is something of an unacceptable situation and is slowly changing as EDOs see the merits in tracking
performance so they can improve their operations. To a large degree though, EDOs are reacting to
negative circumstances – only tracking because their stakeholders are forcing them. Municipal
government cannot be blamed, however, as they are being increasingly pressured by their constituents to
do more with less and justify their spending. Without ongoing justification and demonstration of the
benefits of economic development there may be pressures on the department to scale back its
operations, thus limiting their effectiveness over the long term.
The lack of research as to the most appropriate economic development performance measures also
contributes to the lack of appreciation for the real impact economic development efforts can have on a
community. In an effort to provide an understanding in this regard the following discussion provides
specific details for measuring customer service and return on investment as it pertains to the business of
investment attraction.
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7.1.2 The Logic Model of Performance Management
In developing performance measures for economic development it is important to understand how
economic development activities contribute to the overall goals and objectives of the community. This is
best illustrated through a logic model of performance management, as illustrated in figure 26.
Figure 26 – Performance Management Logic Model
Activities Performance Outputs Outcomes
Tourism
Business
Investment
International
Trade
Business
Retention
Number of
inquiries
Number of
Companies
Assisted
Number of
jobs created
Tax base
generated
% increase in
GDP
Employment
rate
% businesses
surviving for
12 months of
more
Increase in
business start
up rate
GDP Growth
Job growth
Increased
R&D
Expenditure
Increased
business
survival rates
In this model the ultimate results the community look to achieve are defined as Outcomes, or the bottom
line conditions which is deemed to be important by the government and/or community. They tend to be
high level statements that capture the comprehensive needs that must be met to achieve success and
which requires a concerted effort by the whole community. To identify progress towards these high level
goals Outputs or indicators (for which data is available) are defined that helps quantify the achievement of
a desired result. This Output can be “hard data”, such as rates of business start-up or business survival
rates; or they can be “soft”, indicators requiring data collection, such as people’s attitudes and
perceptions and are usually related to key characteristics of a “successful” community.
These Outcome and Outputs however, define the expectations and growth plans for the community as a
whole and are not usually the responsibility of any one individual or group, often requiring a range of
community stakeholders to achieve them. The activities of the economic development office operate
within this overall plan for growth. Economic development activities can range widely from community to
community, but for each of these activities it is important to set out performance measures that identify
how well an agency’s programs are working. Typically these are quantifiable measures of the success or
matters of timeliness, cost effectiveness and compliance with standards. For example, for business
retention and expansion activities an economic development office may measure the number of
companies assisted in expansion plans and the number of jobs created as a result. Importantly these
measures are within the direct control of the economic development officer and are not the high level
targets that are set for the community, over which the economic development officer is likely to have little
influence.
Ideally these economic development performance measures have a strong connection to the Output
measures and Outcomes that the community have defined. Demonstrating the link between an economic
development departments performance measures and the Output and Outcome measures is often
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challenging, but is necessary to provide evidence that economic development activity is delivering to the
goals of the community.
In short, Outcomes and Outputs have to do with the ends the community are trying to achieve;
performance measures have to do with the means by which the economic development offices are
seeking to achieve them.
7.1.3 Economic Development Metrics
The activities and objectives of economic development offices vary greatly from agency to agency.
Recent efforts by a number of economic development officers in central Ontario to identify a common and
agreed set of measures for economic development have proven the difficulty in achieving this. Of the
agencies around the table, none had a completely common set of activities, targets or measures, largely
because each agency was delivering to local goals and objectives.
Traditionally the most commonly used measure of the success of an economic development office relates
to the numbers of new jobs and tax revenues created. Sometimes it is the only measure that is
requested or understood by stakeholders, despite the fact that the objective of economic development
projects is not always to create jobs and taxes, but instead to foster an environment that enables
investment and development to occur.
There are merits to this measure but there are also dangers. In the past, EDOs have been accused of
overstating their impact; as it is easy to claim that investments would have come to the community even
without the support or intervention of an EDO. The Oakville Economic Development Alliance (OEDA) has
developed an innovative approach to this issue that other communities have begun to emulate.
The OEDA created an “OEDA Factor” which evaluated, on a scale of 1 to 100 (expressed as a
percentage) how much impact the organization had in attracting or maintaining an investment in Oakville.
A factor of 75-100% indicates that OEDA were instrumental, 50-75% indicates a high degree of
involvement, 25-50% reflects a moderate involvement (such as approval expediting), while 0-25% is low
involvement, (such as assisting with start-up). The OEDA Factor is then multiplied by the total taxes and
jobs to arrive at “OEDA Jobs” and “OEDA Taxes” calculations. The OEDA model requires that staff go to
the extent of contacting each company involved in the calculation in order to ensure their assigned factor
was appropriate, and reflective of the company’s experience – in case a member of the community were
to want to verify the figures independently. The following table from OEDA’s 2000 Annual Report
provides an overview of this innovative approach.
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Figure 27 – OEDA Measurement of Impact on Jobs and Taxes
OEDA developed a further metric to demonstrate how the municipality’s financial investment in economic
development paid significant returns in a relatively short period of time. In the following table, the blue bar
represents the “OEDA taxes” (from above chart) beginning in 1999. In 2000, it combines the “OEDA
taxes” from 1999 and 2000. By the end of 2000, the level of recurring taxes from OEDA’s successes
more than pays for the Town’s approximately $500,000 annual investment in the organization (the yellow
line). By 2002, the Town was receiving $1,025,866 in taxes (Town portion only), and their investment in
OEDA was still in the $500,000 range annually (it should be noted that if a business closed or downsized,
they were removed from ongoing tax calculations).
The OEDA metrics represent a simple but accurate method of measuring direct economic development
impacts. Although narrow in scope, the technique can be an effective measure of performance in some
limited areas of activity.
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Figure 28 - OEDA Return on Investment
The Town of Markham has taken a different approach to measurement, instead approaching it with its
“Quality Service through Quality People” (QSQP) initiative. Introduced in 1997, the program recognizes
the role employees play in continuous improvement in order to meet the needs and expectations of both
partners and clients. The QSQP program is based on a particular management model:
Figure 29 – Markham QSQP Model
This management model is used as the conceptual focus for an annual series of surveys drawing on the
experience of both partner organizations and client groups. A standardized series of questionnaires is
developed for each group, and delivered on an ongoing basis. Although results are monitored on an
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ongoing basis, data could be aggregated and tallied on an annual basis, in order to compare year-overyear
perceptions of performance by both clients and partners.
Other similar performance measurement systems have also been applied to economic development,
these include:
• The Balanced Scorecard
• Performance Prism
• Cambridge Performance Measurement Process
• TPM Process
• Total Measurement Method
These systems are an attempt to provide a more balanced view of performance across a range of
perspectives.
With the increasing importance of sustainability, many communities are also beginning to look for more
holistic ways of measuring their progress that takes account of economic, social and environmental
considerations. These include:
• Sustainability indicators delivered through the International Sustainability Indicator Network
(ISIN), including indicators focused on the community’s ecological footprint, and analysis of the
community’s triple bottom line;
• Metrics that combine quality of life with economic variables, such as the Genuine Progress
Indicator (GPI); and
• Emerging measures such as the Community Vitality Index (and its related Business Vitality Index)
currently being promoted by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and being
piloted in communities such as Brockville.
The Community Vitality Index, developed by the Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership,
measures the quality of life in a community through a survey of citizens. The 95 question survey allows
citizens to rates the community in nine areas: personal and economic security; life-long learning;
wellness; leadership teamwork and networking; environment; arts, heritage and culture; sense of
community; community entrepreneurship and innovation; and physical space. The community is then
benchmarked against the average of three similar communities, figure 30 illustrates the scores for
Wakefield (QC).
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Figure 30 – Community Vitality Index for Wakefield, Quebec
At the same time, there are a number of third party evaluations occurring on a regular basis, which may
provide a sound measure of a community’s progress through its inclusion on or improved ranking in a
series of existing indices and lists measuring a range of variables and achievements. Possibilities here
are numerous, but could include:
• Canadian Business Magazine’s rankings of “Canada’s Best Cities for Business”
• The Economic Developers Association of Canada’s annual “Marketing Canada” awards
• Corporate Knights Magazine’s annual ranking of the “Most Sustainable Cities in Canada”
• KPMG’s annual “Competitive Alternatives” study
• Today’s Parent Magazine’s annual ranking of the “Five Best Cities for Families”
• The Appleton Charitable Foundation’s annual list of “National Sustainable Urban Transportation
Rankings”
• Computerworld’s annual “Best Places to Work in IT” rankings
Of course, metrics are not economic development in and of themselves. When employed effectively, they
may shed light on some element of the economic development process. Collectively, they may help to
paint a picture of the larger processes – positive or negative – underway within a community or regional
economy. The ultimate metric of economic development success, however, is left to the community:
when business and community leaders are satisfied that progress is being made, then success is in sight.
7.1.4 Performance Measures to Consider
A further consideration in developing performance measures for the City of Barrie Economic
Development Department will be the degree to which they are able to successfully implement the actions
recommended in the Economic Development Strategy. Articulating the City’s plans in this regard, its
ability to drive involvement and consensus around key activities will be essential to the effectiveness of
the Strategy and the Economic Development Department over the long term.
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What’s most important in the preparation of qualitative and quantitative measures is to identify at the
beginning of the period what the expectations are and to get agreement from Council and stakeholders.
The following figure provides examples of the types of measures that could be considered.
Figure 31 - Economic Development Measures to Consider for Core Responsibilities
Service Examples of Measures
Overall
Industrial
Readiness &
Investment
Attraction
Tourism
Infrastructure
& Planning
Marketing Plan with a prioritized list of achievable projects for
each service and measurable targets completed each fiscal
year, including objective review of the previous year’s activities
A vibrant Advisory Committee with representation from across
the community
Successful leveraging of $x through senior levels of government
x% customer satisfaction based on feedback forms
x% of business people understanding the role of the Economic
Development and how it can help them and their peers
x% of new business start ups
Number of hits to the City’s Economic Development web page
Customer satisfaction levels with website
Number of jobs created in target sectors
Number of investment inquiries and closed deals
Satisfaction of service as determined by prospects
Speed of development approvals process
Number of jobs retained or attracted to the community
Change in industrial class property tax assessment
Percentage of times the “Gold Standard” of service delivery is
met
Revenue vs. expenditures in completing visitor’s guide
Level of private sector interest in City programs
Identification of feasible new business opportunities and number
of interested investors (existing or external business interest)
Number of visitors to local attractions
Progressiveness of partnership with surrounding townships and
County
Visitor satisfaction surveys
x number of Community Improvement Plans completed
% of population and businesses having access to wireless or
land-based high-speed Internet
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Service Examples of Measures
Downtown
Revitalization
New programs established for façade and building
improvements and other needs
A decrease in the vacancy rate
Number of new businesses attracted
Net jobs and taxes created
Expansion of trade market area
Expanded retail shopping opportunities
Increase in the number of people living in the downtown
Improved perception of downtown as a gathering place
7.1.5 Providing Top-Notch Service
Economic development is a service business and investment prospects require a high-degree of
attention. To effectively determine the client’s needs and identify possible solutions takes strong selling
skills and a broad knowledge of the local and regional economy, various industrial sectors, building/land
development and the local business community.
Interaction with a client may begin with a single staff person, but as the project develops it is normal for
many different municipal departments and outside organizations to be involved. There needs to be a
standard operating procedure and single point of contact, but this person must have the ability and
capability of accessing information from many sources. To be successful in attracting new investment,
the City and other organizations in the community must be recognized as one team who are working
towards the common goal of doing what it can to attract desirable investment.
As the key point of contact, the City’s Economic Development Office should aim to consistently meet the
“Gold Standard” of acceptable service. The following figure shows how technology has accelerated the
Gold Standard over the last decade.
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Figure 32 - Evolution of Economic Development Services
Year
The Gold
Standard
Response Time
1998 48 hours
2001 Same day
2008
While on the
phone
Source: Millier Dickinson Blais (2008)
The Gold Standard of Economic Development Service
At the end of the call with the investment prospect the EDO says:
“To help you better understand our community and the
opportunities we have for you, I will put together a package that
contains our Community Profile, Available Properties Guide and
Lure Brochure. I will use Post-It Notes to highlight the pages that
will be of most interest so you can quickly find the relevant
information. I will courier that out to you tomorrow and you
should have it in 48 hours.”
At the end of the call with the investment prospect the EDO says
“To help you better understand our community and the
opportunities we have for you, I will send you an email before the
end of the day that has several attachments including key
excerpts from our Community Profile as well as hyperlinks to
online listings of available property that closely meets your
criteria.”
During the call with the investment prospect, the EDO says “Do
you have access to the Internet right now?” [YES] “Great, why
don’t we go online and I’ll take you through our website so that
you can download the relevant files. We’ll also go through our
available properties directory and look at maps, photos and
details of available properties which meet the criteria you’ve
described to me.”
The advancement of technology and the internet means that overnight responses are seldom good
enough. Communities must become more sophisticated in gathering/organizing community data and
responding immediately to specific questions.
This is easy to measure, but it takes an honest self-assessment. Simply, how did we do? Did we meet
the Gold Standard of Service for that client? Tracking this will provide, at the end of each quarter, the
number of time the gold standard was met. Over the course of several quarters, one will see a trend and
be able to proactively identify ways to improve.
There are other techniques that can also be incorporated, including getting feedback from
customers/clients. While Customer Feedback Surveys are used in the private sector, they are rarely used
by the public sector.
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In 2007, the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) held investment readiness seminars
across the province. Hosted by a US-based firm that selects sites for international companies, the
seminars were an effort to help communities identify what they need to do to be better prepared for
investment inquiries. The following findings are relevant to this discussion:
• In the last 10 years decision cycles have been compressed. Operations run 365/7/24 and an
economic development office that does not keep up is likely to miss opportunities.
• Having an inventory of “Certified” available properties speeds up the process and heightens an
investors’ interest. These certified properties have been independently verified to be ‘shovelready’.
In other words, zoning is in place, there are no environmental/archaeological/geological
problems, and utilities are at the site; and
• Competitive communities have an immediately available inventory of available buildings and land,
appropriate utility infrastructure, a labour force that is ready to work, shows widespread support
for industry, and can give a professional presentation to decision makers.
If the City of Barrie wants to remain competitive in attracting new business investment, the level of
preparedness to respond to investment enquiries is a key consideration. In this respect, the City must
consider the opportunities for tourism investment as well as the more traditional forms of industrial and
business investment. There is also the opportunity associated with supporting the growth of local
business through expansion. At each stage in the process there are opportunities for the City to work
with the ‘investor’ to ensure that their needs and requirements are being met.
7.1.6 A Strong Web Presence
With the new Gold Standard of customer service in economic development including a strong web
presence, business recruitment efforts must now include an effective community website. In a recent
survey of corporate executives with real estate responsibilities conducted by Developers Counsellors
International, respondents suggested that a strong internet presence has become the most important
communication tool for economic development. In the report, Winning Strategies in Economic
Development Marketing, it was reported that Internet/website has soared in recent years to capture the
highest rating among all economic development marketing tools ahead of advertising, planned visits and
publicity. While this survey was geared to the opinion of business executives, the importance of an
effective and comprehensive website is just as important to small business entrepreneurs, visitors and
would be residents of the community.
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Figure 33 - DCI ranking of marketing techniques
Source: Development Counsellors International, Survey of Corporate Executives, 2008
A cursory review of the City of Barrie’s website was undertaken and compared against a number of other
comparitor communities in Ontario. This review suggests there are some gaps in the availability of
information and functionality of that portion of the site that is dedicated to economic development. As a
result the City’s site does not provide an adequate understanding of the uniqueness and appeal of the
community. In particular the site could:
• Give more prominence to the Barrie Means Business community profile;
• Improve current news, which is quite scant, by using the current e-newsletters as the
basis for the news section;
• Include information on current and past major projects and expansion, such as Royal
Victoria Hospital, Georgian College, Allendale, Simcoe Regional Airport, etc. All of these
will illustrate how Barrie is growing.
• Include detailed information pertaining to the City’s major sectors and target sectors
particularly its creative economy; currently there is only a list of major employers
This situation should be addressed as part of the outcome of the economic development strategy and the
discussion of appropriate performance measures in order to ensure that the city is capitalizing on its
competitive position and informing investors, visitors and future residents as to the opportunities,
business environment and quality of place the city is able to offer.
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Figure 34 - Website Comparison of Economic Development Practices (1)
Barrie
Orillia
Belleville
Industrial/Commercial Land and Properties Presence of a Community Profile Availability of Resources and Statistics News Centre and Publications Current and Past Project Initiatives
Website has a very good search engine to identify
any industrial and commercial land and property
in Barrie
A table of industrial and commercial land is
provided with detail of ownership, acerage and
servicing.
Belleville's website provides a very detailed list of
available industrial land as well as profiles on the
sites available.
There is the Barrie Means Business
profile, but it is barried as a separate
link at the bottom of the Investment
Profile page. This should be given
more prominent profile on the home
page.
There are 13 very good fact sheets covering
a range of investment related issues, such as
people, infrastrcuture, transport, cost of
living, etc
The business News section is
somewhat scan with only a few
news stories. There are back
issues of very good e-newsletters
also available. The current enewsletter
could form the basis of
the news in this section.
Statistics specific to the City of Orillia are
No. There is not a specific community
limited in availability on the website, but There is a small section for local
profile, but the website does have links
there is a link however to Statistics Canada news, but no major link to
for the history of Orillia, its location,
data through the planning and development publications.
and the population.
section.
Yes. Belleville's website has a very
extensive community profile that is
easy to navigate and very detailed
with up to date information.
The website provides reports and statistics
for business and on the community. There is
a large number of reports and sources of
information on the website.
Links are provided for annual
reports and accessibility plans.
There is also a news/press release
section.
There is not a specific section identifying
current and past project or initiatives.
With the growth occuring in Barrie this is
an excellent opportunity to highlight the
major expansion and growth projects
underway and being considered. This
should include stories on the expansion
at RVH, Georgian and the Simcoe
Regional Airport, as well as proposed
projects at Allendale and the downtown
revitalization. This will illustrate the
significant growth potential of Barrie.
There is some limited news about
facade programs and fibre optic network,
but there is not a specific section that
would make it easy to view all of Orillia's
previous and current initiatives.
There is a report section with pdfs on all
development initiatives such as
waterfront redevelopment, skate park
development, fire department, sports
centre, and a leisure centre. The
economic development section also lists
objectives for the economic and strategic
initiatives.
Brantford
In the Economic Development
Website provides a link detailing all available Yes. The website provides a moderate The Website provides a large number of section there is a specific link for
land, whether industrial buildings, land,
amount of demographic data, however current demographic statistics, as well as publications and news. There is
commercial or residential. The list includes details only some of it has been updated to information on competitive advantage factors also another link to news for the
on the size, price, site address and lease or sale 2006, while other factors are
such as tax rates, available land, and various community, which includes press
information
explained using 2001 data.
business resources.
releases, public notices, meeting
information, etc.
Most of the available statistics and reports
Information on some projects such as
downtown revitalization, site
developments, and business
improvement plans are detailed, but
there is not a specific section outlining
past and current initiatives.
Peterborough
Detailed information on available land is not
provided.
Yes. The GPAEDC provides a current are available through the economic Media releases and news updates
There is not a specific section identifying
(September 2008) community profile development webpage, but a link is provided are provided on both the City's
current and past project initiatives.
that is quite extensive.
through the City of Peterborough's own web webpage, as well as the EDC's.
site.
Owen Sound
A separate tab entitled "properties" directs the
reader to information on various types of lands:
industrial, residential, commercial and rental
properties
Yes. The website provides a detailed
community profile, providing a range
Vital statistics are provided through a link
of employment, lifestyle and business
statistics.
A tab indicating business news is
present, but the link is currently
unavailable.
There is not a specific section identifying
current and past project initiatives.
Guelph
Detailed information on available land and
property is found in the business section of the
website.
Yes. The business section provides a
community profile and statistics and
The business section has a number of links
facts on demographics, labour, quality
for facts, statistics, and resources.
of life, and real estate and
development.
The business section has a
Projects such as twinning, business
specific area for a large number of
outreach, and retention and expansion
publications that are available in
are outlined in the business section.
pdf form.
Woodstock
Detailed information regarding available real
estate and land in Woodstock is available via the
Woodstock Now web page.
Woodstock Now provides a statistics in Woodstock Now has a section for
Yes. Woodstock Now provides a very
demographics, location, infrastructure, media releases, publications, and
detailed community profile.
quality of life, as well as business information video clips
A business news section provides
details and media releases regarding
business and economic development
initiatives.
Caledon
Under tab entitled 'site selection' directs the reader
Yes. Caledon's webpage provides s a Through the community and investment
to information is provided for available properties
very extensive community and profile, a vast number of statistics and facts
and buildings. This section also gives detailed
investment profile.
are provided. The profile is very thorough.
information of the development process.
There are links for both news as
well as publications.
Projects such as a corporate visit
program, a business alliance program,
business ambassador program, and
physician recruitment are listed in detail.
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Figure 35 - Website Comparison of Economic Development Practices (2)
Barrie
Orillia
Belleville
Brantford
Peterborough
Owen Sound
Guelph
Main Industry Sectors Business Directory Tourism Presence Economic Development Website
There is a fact sheet covering the major
businesses in Barrie, but nothing focusing on the
major sectors and target sectors.
The main industry sectors supporting Orillia`s
economy are identified through a list of business
links which highlight: Casino Rama,
Manufacturing and Construction Associations, the
Regional Airport, and the University/College.
The main industry sectors supporting Belleville`s
economy are identified. Included are: Food
Processing, Automotive Parts, Paper & Plastics,
Bio-tech, Aerospace, Packaging, Transportation,
Warehousing, Pharmaceuticals, Metals.
The main industry sectors supporting Brantford`s
economy are identified in the Brantford-Brant
website. The list identifies: food manufacturing,
plastics and rubber products, primary and
fabricated metals, chemical manufacturing,
machinery manufacturing, and warehouse
distribution.
A business directory is provided, with
There is nothing specific to Tourism, but
a search engine to identify businesses
there is a link to Tourism Barrie.
on the directory.
The Economic Development section
provides a 10 page pdf listing all of the Nothing specific to tourism.
major employers in Orillia.
A business directory is provided
through Business Information On-Line
Search Engine.
A business directory is provided
through a link to the Brantford Brant
Chamber of Commerce website.
The main industry sectors supporting
Peterborough`s economy are identified by the
The business directory is provided on
GPAEDC website. The GPAEDC identifies
the City's web site in the business
industry clusters in Peterborough: the biotech
section.
industry, food processing, the automotive industry,
electronics and aerospace, as well as tourism.
The main industry sectors supporting Owen
Sound`s economy are identified as manufacturing
& commercial/retail sectors.
A business directory is provided and
can be reviewed either through a
search button or through a list of
categories.
Belleville`s economic development office
works in partnership with the Chamber of
Commerce to promote tourism initiatives.
Brantford`s economic development
department is combined with tourism.
Peterborough`s economic development
department is combined with tourism.
Owen Sound's economic development
department is combined with tourism.
No website separate from the
City's.
No website separate from the
City's.
No website separate from the
City's.
Separate website for Economic
Development Brantford-Brant
"Your Advantage Point"
http://www.brantfordbrant.com
Separate website for Greater
Peterborough Area economic
Development Corporation:
http://www.gpaedc.on.ca/
No website separate from the
City's.
The main industry sectors supporting Guelph`s
economy are identified through the statistics and
facts links which provides information on NAICS
A business directory is provided in the
sectors. By labour, manufacturing, professional,
Guelph's economic development department No website separate from the
business section as well as a "popular
scientific and technical businesses are the largest.
is combined with tourism.
City's.
pages" link on the home page.
The business section also lists sector focuses,
which includes advanced manufacturing, agri-food
and innovation, and environmental technologies.
Woodstock Not obviously stated.
Caledon
Source: City Websites, 2008 and 2009
The main industry sectors supporting Caledon`s
economy are identified as manufacturing, and
professional, scientific, and technical services.
Woodstock Now as well as
Woodstock's home page has an
Industrial Directory.
A business directory is provided with
advanced searches and by industry
sector.
Woodstock`s economic development
department works with the County of Oxford
on tourism initiatives.
Caledon`s economic development
department works in partnership with
Orangeville and Dufferin County, part of
Wellington, and a tourism association on
tourism initiatives.
separate website for Woodstock's
economic development information
www.woodstocknow.com
No website separate from the
City's.
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Appendix I
National American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Definitions
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North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS)
Sector Definitions
Agriculture, Forestry (NAICS 11)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting
timber, harvesting fish and other animals from their natural habitats and providing related support
activities.
Establishments primarily engaged in agricultural research or that supply veterinary services are not
included in this sector.
Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction (NAICS 21)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in extracting naturally occurring minerals. These
can be solids, such as coal and ores; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas.
The term mining is used in the broad sense to include quarrying, well operations, milling (for example,
crushing, screening, washing, or flotation) and other preparation customarily done at the mine site, or as
a part of mining activity.
Establishments engaged in exploration for minerals, development of mineral properties and mining
operations are included in this sector. Establishments performing similar activities, on a contract or fee
basis, are also included.
Construction (NAICS 23)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in constructing, repairing and renovating
buildings and engineering works, and in subdividing and developing land. These establishments may
operate on their own account or under contract to other establishments or property owners.
Manufacturing (NAICS 31-33)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the physical or chemical transformation of
materials or substances into new products. These products may be finished, in the sense that they are
ready to be used or consumed, or semi-finished, in the sense of becoming a raw material for an
establishment to use in further manufacturing.
Related activities, such as the assembly of the component parts of manufactured goods; the blending of
materials; and the finishing of manufactured products by dyeing, heat-treating, plating and similar
operations are also treated as manufacturing activities.
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Manufacturing establishments are known by a variety of trade designations, such as plants, factories or
mills. Manufacturing establishments may own the materials which they transform or they may transform
materials owned by other establishments. Manufacturing may take place in factories or in workers'
homes, using either machinery or hand tools.
Wholesale Trade (NAICS 41)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in wholesaling merchandise and providing
related logistics, marketing and support services. The wholesaling process is generally an intermediate
step in the distribution of merchandise; many wholesalers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in
large quantities to retailers, and business and institutional clients. However, some wholesalers, in
particular those that supply non-consumer capital goods, sell merchandise in single units to final users.
This sector recognizes two main types of wholesalers, that is, wholesale merchants and wholesale agents
and brokers.
Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45)
The retail trade sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in retailing merchandise, generally
without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise.
The retailing process is the final step in the distribution of merchandise; retailers are therefore organized
to sell merchandise in small quantities to the general public. This sector comprises two main types of
retailers, that is, store and non-store retailers.
Information and Cultural Industries (NAICS 51)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in creating and disseminating (except by
wholesale and retail methods) information and cultural products, such as written works, musical works or
recorded performances, recorded dramatic performances, software and information databases, or
providing the means to disseminate them. Establishments that provide access to equipment and
expertise to process information are also included.
The main components of this sector are the publishing industries (except exclusively on Internet),
including software publishing, the motion picture and sound recording industries, the broadcasting
industries (except exclusively on Internet), the internet publishing and broadcasting industries, the
telecommunications industries, the internet service providers, web search portals, data processing
industries, and the other information services industries.
Finance and Insurance (NAICS 52)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in financial transactions (that is, transactions
involving the creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of financial assets) or in facilitating financial
transactions. Included are:
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� Establishments that are primarily engaged in financial intermediation. They raise funds by taking
deposits and/or issuing securities, and, in the process, incur liabilities, which they use to acquire
financial assets by making loans and/or purchasing securities. Putting themselves at risk, they
channel funds from lenders to borrowers and transform or repackage the funds with respect to
maturity, scale and risk.
� Establishments that are primarily engaged in the pooling of risk by underwriting annuities and
insurance. They collect fees (insurance premiums or annuity considerations), build up reserves,
invest those reserves and make contractual payments. Fees are based on the expected
incidence of the insured risk and the expected return on investment.
� Establishments that are primarily engaged in providing specialized services that facilitate or
support financial intermediation, insurance and employee benefit programs.
In addition, establishments charged with monetary control - the monetary authorities - are included in this
sector.
Real Estate and Rental Leasing (NAICS 53)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in renting, leasing or otherwise allowing the use
of tangible or intangible assets.
Establishments primarily engaged in managing real estate for others; selling, renting and/or buying of real
estate for others; and appraising real estate, are also included
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (NAICS 54)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in activities in which human capital is the major
input. These establishments make available the knowledge and skills of their employees, often on an
assignment basis.
The main components of this sector are:
� legal services industries;
� accounting and related services industries;
� architectural, engineering and related services industries;
� surveying and mapping services industries;
� design services industries;
� management, scientific and technical consulting services industries;
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� scientific research and development services industries;
� advertising services industries.
The distinguishing feature of this sector is the fact that most of the industries grouped in it have
production processes that are almost wholly dependent on worker skills. In most of these industries,
equipment and materials are not of major importance. Thus, the establishments classified in this sector
sell expertise.
Management of Companies and Enterprises (NAICS 55)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in managing companies and enterprises and/or
holding the securities or financial assets of companies and enterprises, for the purpose of owning a
controlling interest in them and/or influencing their management decisions.
They may undertake the function of management, or they may entrust the function of financial
management to portfolio managers
Educational Services (NAICS 61)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing instruction and training in a wide
variety of subjects. This instruction and training is provided by specialized establishments, such as
schools, colleges, universities and training centres.
These establishments may be privately owned and operated, either for profit or not, or they may be
publicly owned and operated. They may also offer food and accommodation services to their students.
Health Care and Social Assistance (NAICS 62)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing health care by diagnosis and
treatment, providing residential care for medical and social reasons, and providing social assistance, such
as counselling, welfare, child protection, community housing and food services, vocational rehabilitation
and child care, to those requiring such assistance.
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation (NAICS 71)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating facilities or providing services to
meet the cultural, entertainment and recreational interests of their patrons. These establishments
produce, promote or participate in live performances, events or exhibits intended for public viewing;
provide the artistic, creative and technical skills necessary for the production of artistic products and live
performances; preserve and exhibit objects and sites of historical, cultural or educational interest; and
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operate facilities or provide services that enable patrons to participate in sports or recreational activities of
pursue amusement, hobbies and leisure-time interests.
Accommodation and Food Services (NAICS 72)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing short-term lodging and
complementary services to travellers, vacationers and others, in facilities such as hotels, motor hotels,
resorts, motels, casino hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, housekeeping cottages and cabins,
recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds, hunting and fishing camps, and various types of
recreational and adventure camps.
This sector also comprises establishments primarily engaged in preparing meals, snacks and beverages,
to customer order, for immediate consumption on and off the premises
Public Administration (NAICS 91)
This sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in activities of a governmental nature, that is, the
enactment and judicial interpretation of laws and their pursuant regulations, and the administration of
programs based on them.
Legislative activities, taxation, national defence, public order and safety, immigration services, foreign
affairs and international assistance, and the administration of government programs are activities that are
purely governmental in nature.
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Appendix II
National Occupation Classification (NOC) Definitions
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National Occupation Classification (NOC) Definitions
Management Occupations
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with carrying out the functions of
management by planning, organizing, coordinating, directing, controlling, staffing, and formulating,
implementing or enforcing policy, either directly or through other levels of management. Supervising is not
considered to be a management function.
Business, Finance and Administrative Occupations
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with providing financial and
business services, administrative and regulatory services and clerical support services.
Natural and Applied Sciences and Related Occupations
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with conducting theoretical and
applied research and providing technical support in natural and applied sciences.
Health Occupations
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with providing health care
services directly to patients and providing support to health care delivery.
Occupations in Social Science, Education, Government Service and Religion
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with law, teaching, counselling,
conducting social science research, providing religious services, and developing and administering
government policies and programs.
Occupations in Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with providing artistic and
cultural services and providing direct support to the service providers.
Sales and Service Occupations
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with selling goods and services
and providing personal, protective, household, tourism and hospitality services.
Trades, Transport and Equipment Operators and Related Occupations
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with contracting, supervising
and doing trades work; and supervising and operating transportation and heavy equipment.
Occupations Unique to Primary Industry
Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with operating farms and
supervising or doing farm work; operating fishing vessels and doing specialized fishing work; and in doing
supervision and production work in oil and gas production and forestry and logging.
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Appendix III
Barrie Community Survey Results
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City of Barrie Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan - Community Survey Results
Number of respondents – 652
1. Are you responding as a:
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Barrie business
owner
2. What is your primary type of business?
Other*
Health/Education
Professional service firm
Retail or personal service
Manufacturing
Tourism or hospitality
Manager/Operator of
a Barrie business
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0%
* “Other” includes a variety of business types including wholesale, contracting, sales and marketing, real
estate, installation and distribution, transportation, recreation and development related establishments.
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3. How long has your business operated in Barrie?
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Less than 2
years
2-5 years 6-10 years Longer
4. How many people do you employ? (fulltime or fulltime equivalent)
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
1-5
employees
6-20
employees
21-50
employees
51-100
employees
More than
100
employees
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5. Which of the following best classifies your business?
Multinational
Company
Owner lives
more than 100
km away
Owner lives
locally but
outside the City
Owner lives in
Barrie
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
6. Using a scale for 0 to 10 where 0 is “not at all important” and 10 is “very important”, please rate the
following criteria to indicate the level of importance each one has, in ensuring the growth of your
business.
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Servicing infrastructure
Transportation infrastructure
Proximity to supply and/or market chains
Quality of lifestyle factors
Efficient development environment (approvals, etc.)
Low cost facilities in which to start-up businesses
Availability of economic development services
Access to financing
Access to business services
Availability of affordable housing options
Affordable and efficient waste management
Affordable energy costs
Competitive wage rates
A vibrant and diverse arts and cultural community
Promotion of Barrie to prospective business …
Marketing of Barrie to prospective tourists/visitors
Marketing of Barrie to a prospective workforce
Presence of post secondary institutions
Availability and quality of high-speed telecommunications
Access to quality post secondary education and training
Availability of a skilled and semi skilled workforce
Availability of land or buildings (e.g. office, retail, industrial)
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0
7. Using a scale for 0 to 10 where 0 is “not at all important” and 10 is “very important”, please rate the
following criteria to indicate the level of importance each one has, in ensuring the growth of your
business.
Quality of lifestyle factors
Efficient development environment (approvals, etc.)
Low cost facilities in which to start-up businesses
Availability of economic development services
Access to financing
Access to business services
Availability of affordable housing options
Affordable and efficient waste management
Affordable energy costs
Competitive wage rates
A vibrant and diverse arts and cultural community
Promotion of Barrie to prospective business …
Marketing of Barrie to prospective tourists/visitors
Marketing of Barrie to a prospective workforce
Presence of post secondary institutions
Availability and quality of high-speed telecommunications
Access to quality post secondary education, skills …
Availability of a skilled and semi skilled workforce
Availability of land or buildings (e.g. office, retail, industrial)
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0
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8. What is the primary reason for locating your business in Barrie?
Quality of Life:
The primary reason cited for locating business in Barrie is that the business owner lives in Barrie, and
chosen to locate their business their rather than relocate. A number of lifestyle considerations were cited
to support this decision including its suitability for raising a family; access to waterfront/outdoor activities;
high level of community services; and relative safety.
Proximity to Markets:
Many businesses identified Barrie’s central location with respect to Simcoe County, the province of
Ontario, and Canada as a key reason for locating there. Barrie’s easy access to transport routes
(Highway 400/11/69), its position as a tourism gateway to the north, and the ease of access to a large,
competitive labour force were also identified as key features. More specifically, many business owners
pointed to Barrie’s proximity to the GTA as a key decision factor; though many wanted to avoid the
commute to Toronto, or its business environment, access to the labour pool and client base there remains
important.
Costs:
The historically low land, housing and development costs of Barrie compared to GTA were cited as
original location decision factors for business owners. However, many also stated that these conditions
are now less applicable, as it has become increasingly difficult to find available, reasonably priced land
and facilities in Barrie.
9. How do you expect your company to perform in the next 18 months compared to the last 18 months?
Don't know
Much weaker
Somewhat weaker
About the same
Somewhat stronger
Much stronger
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%
10. Barrie is a welcoming community for newcomers.
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Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly/Somewhat Agree:
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0%
Friendliness; lots of activities and organizations that welcome newcomers; small-town feel is
maintained, especially compared with bigger neighbours; supportive of active lifestyles
Better-priced housing; residential, commercial and cultural growth all occurring; supportive
EDO/CAO
Strongly/Somewhat Disagree:
Somewhat closed to the newcomers re: business, decision-makers; cliquishness and ‘old Barrie
network’; small-town attitude not reflective of the realities of growth.
Development costs, red tape, and tax structure inhibits business development; focus is too much
on low-skill, retail growth.
Urban sprawl, a growing disconnect between North and South Barrie, and big-box expansion
inhibits community feel.
Unattractive downtown and recent increases in crime and drug use perceived; problems with
infrastructure and traffic congestion.
11. Barrie is a good place for a business to succeed.
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Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat
disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly/Somewhat Agree:
Entry costs and growth better than Toronto, good transportation access
small enough to still put premium on service and loyalty, but progressive as well; community feel
and good business-to-business ties
Diverse people and businesses; skilled workforce and population base to support growth
Good quality of life to attract workforce.
Strongly/Somewhat Disagree:
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0%
Development too retail focused, and service sector limited to low-end
Very cliquish business environment
Skilled work leaves for Toronto, and manufacturing is dying – need more knowledge workers
Barrie is a bedroom/commuter community
Too many barriers from City Hall, stronger leadership needed; taxes and development charges
are excessive
12. Barrie needs to be more aggressive in promoting itself to a prospective workforce.
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Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat
disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly/Somewhat Agree:
Need to attract more skilled, professional, high-wage positions; professionals commute out, need
wages comparable to GTA; more diversity, less retail focus
Need to better promote live/work/play aspect of Barrie
Need to better communicate a brand aside from the lake
Strongly/Somewhat Disagree:
Need to focus on industry first, then workforce will come
Focus more on the people already in Barrie and out of work, as they have a strong workforce
already but few good jobs
May get people naturally, as GTA expands outwards.
13. Barrie needs to develop more facilities and events that are of interest to tourists.
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly/Somewhat Agree:
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
Need more downtown, high-end hotel/conference/convention space; need ‘big’ venue, Park Place
should be developed, will bring new money to community
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More money for docks/slips for boat traffic, and waterfront in general; waterfront is greatest asset,
more needs to be done
More arts facilities needed
Strongly/Somewhat Disagree:
More about sense of place, quality of life than what is built;
Need better marketing, not more facilities; already lots of events, especially in summer
A private sector responsibility; business market should be focus, not tourism
Little support for the YMCA moving to the waterfront/station lands
14. Barrie has an attractive and welcoming image for tourists and visitors
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat
disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly/Somewhat Agree:
Waterfront and lakeshore are huge assets in this regard; improvements in downtown, boutique
shopping.
Molson Park and Burl’s Creek, but there is more potential there.
Strongly/Somewhat Disagree:
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
Too much ongoing construction, especially at waterfront, that needs to finish to be attractive
Many infrastructure/traffic problems; unflattering drive in/through Barrie from 400 (big box)
Downtown perceived as having lots of crime and ‘undesirables’; lots of unrealized potential
15. Barrie needs to be more aggressive in promoting itself to visitors and tourists.
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Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly/Somewhat Agree:
Advertise more about the lakefront; focus on downtown revitalization; need more focus on
specific amenities.
Promotion needs to be done, but also in conjunction with improving access; need to stay on top
of trends and growth areas; more is better.
Need to brand beyond a GTA-to-cottage stopover.
Strongly/Somewhat Disagree:
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
Focus should be on local residents to engage in local recreation; Tourism Barrie doing well, City
needs to do more.
Need more things to do, not more promotion.
Tourism funds should be spent elsewhere; other more pressing concerns and Barrie is wellknown
enough to tourists.
16. What distinctive assets or advantages does Barrie have on which to build a strong economy?
People: Growing skilled workforce/talent base, good place to raise a family, young workforce
Services and Amenities: Georgian College/post-secondary education, regional health care,
natural features, waterfront, skiing, downtown, diverse shopping, local media
Location: Accessible transportation re: 400 series highways, location re: GTA and cottage country
for client base and workforce, passenger and commuter bus/rail to major centres
Costs and Business Environment: cheap land and housing costs, tourist events and festivals,
small-town feel with big-city assets; not reliant one any single industry/employer; availability of
serviced land
17. What opportunities are there to strengthen Barrie and the region’s economy?
Business Environment: Less red tape re: development – control building costs and streamline
process; need better paying/high skill jobs to avoid GTA brain drain; more innovation, convention
centres, business parks, head offices; increase focus on high-skill industry, ICT and green
technology; industry and business growth over residential and retail growth, to spread out tax
base; stop prioritizing developers over business owners; intelligent use of annexed Innisfil lands
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Transportation and Infrastructure: Better management re: public works and infrastructure projects
(e.g. waterfront, Park Place etc.); improve transportation infrastructure (widen 400) and address
congestion; improve Barrie Transit; more attention to downtown revitalization/North end
Services and Amenities: More post-secondary education options; strengthen arts and culture
facilities and initiatives; build upon natural beauty, sustainability and tourism
18. What challenges will impact the growth of the local economy?
Broader Economy: The global, national, and provincial economies, and recession/recovery;
labour costs and competition from similar GTA centres (Guelph, Whitby); environmental issues,
energy costs, and sustainable growth
Managing Growth: Lack of clear focus, trying to do too much; increasing congestion, access
issues from the south; insufficient infrastructure to handle growth; continued availability of lowcost
lands; ability of social services to keep up with population growth
Local Business Environment: Stagnant City council and bad planning decisions; access to
business funding; lack of jobs to serve workforce; loss of local manufacturing base; loss of smalltown
feel; saturation of some sectors (retail); high tax rates and user fees; continued stagnancy
and crime in downtown; inferiority complex/small minded thinking.
19. What are your investment intentions this year?
Don't know
Increase spending
Reduce spending
Remain the same
20. Do you have any additional comments?
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
Infrastructure: overwhelmed public works/infrastructure, and road system, to handle construction
and transportation needs; infrastructure needs to match pace of growth; waterfront beautification
needs to conclude
Workforce: Need to evolve beyond bedroom community, employ skilled workers in Barrie
Business Environment: need more innovative and cooperative planning framework; Barrie had
lots of potential that is not being capitalized on re: business support, cohesive planning – too
much focus has been put on residential and retail; mayor and council need to improve working
relationship; Barrie is a great place to live, but there is even greater potential
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Appendix V
Interview Participants
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The following individuals contributed their time and insight during the interview stage of the
strategic planning process.
Ed Archer, General Manager of Corporate Services, Corporation of the City of Barrie
Dave Aspden, Mayor - Member of EDAC Committee, Corporation of the City of Barrie
Jon Babulic, Chief Administrative Officer, Corporation of the City of Barrie
Chad Ballantyne, Creative Director, Rhubarb Media, The Creative Space, Barrie
John Brassard, Councillor - Ward 7, Corporation of the City of Barrie
Patrick Brown, MP, Member of Parliament - Serving Barrie
John Byles, President & General Manager, F.K Machinery Limited, Barrie
Robert DeGasperis, President, Metrus Properties
Kelly Duggan, Director Organizational Planning and Development, Georgian College
Richard Forward, General Manager of Infrastructure, Development & Culture, Corporation of the City of
Barrie
Bob Glandfield, President and CEO, Innovation Synergy Centre in Markham
John Gordon, Business Development Officer, CFB Borden
Sybil Goruk, Executive Director, Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce
Rob Hamilton, Owner, Queen's Hotel
Michael Hewlett, Vice President & Sales Representative, Devencore Realties Corporation
Jeff Lehman, Councillor - Ward 2, Corporation of the City of Barrie
Linda Loftus, Associate Broker, Sutton Group Incentive Realty Inc
Jamie Massie, President, Georgian International Group of Companies
Chuck Magwood, Downtown Facilitator, City of Barrie
Barry Peacock, Senior Partner & Chairman of the Board, Kempenfelt Graphics Group Inc
Terri Plaxton-Smith, Business Consultant/Administrator, Greater Barrie Business Enterprise Centre
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Don Pratt, D.G. Pratt Construction
Michael Prowse, Councillor - Ward 6 - Member of EDAC Committee, Corporation of the City of Barrie
Carl Rabinowitz, RE/MAX Chay Realty – Barrie
Sab Ravalli, CEO, Prodomax Industrial Automation
Steve Ryan, Spectrum Realty Services
Janice Skot, President and CEO, Royal Victoria Hospital
Stephen Sperling, President, Aerarium Development Corporation
Brian Spratley, Morguard Investments
Craig Stevens, Executive Director, Downtown Barrie
Roger Still, Vice President, TD Commercial Banking
Brian Tamblyn, President, Georgian College
Jim Taylor, Director of Planning Services, Corporation of the City of Barrie
Kathleen Trainor, Executive Director, Tourism Barrie
Lawrence Zucker, Osmington Inc
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Appendix VI
Barrie’s Creative Industries
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City of Barrie
No. of
Businesses
% of total
creative
businesses
Advertising
541810 - Advertising Agencies 26 3.3%
541830 - Media Buying Agencies 1 0.1%
541840 - Media Representatives 3 0.4%
541850 - Display Advertising 10 1.3%
541860 - Direct Mail Advertising 1 0.1%
541899 - All Other Services Related to Advertising 9 1.1%
Architecture
541310 - Architectural Services 15 1.9%
541320 - Landscape Architectural Services 8 1.0%
Artists
453920 - Art Dealers 4 0.5%
711511 - Independent Artists, Visual Arts 3 0.4%
711512 - Independent Actors, Comedians and Performers 11 1.4%
711513 - Independent Writers and Authors 10 1.3%
Business Consulting
541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services 142 17.8%
541612 - Human Resources Consulting Services 12 1.5%
541619 - Other Management Consulting Services 53 6.6%
Design
541410 - Interior Design Services 20 2.5%
541420 - Industrial Design Services 5 0.6%
541430 - Graphic Design Services 34 4.3%
541490 - Other Specialized Design Services 4 0.5%
Education
611210 - Community Colleges and C.E.G.E.P.s 5 0.6%
611310 - Universities 0 0.0%
611410 - Business and Secretarial Schools 1 0.1%
611420 - Computer Training 4 0.5%
611430 - Professional and Management Development Training 9 1.1%
611610 - Fine Arts Schools 10 1.3%
Engineering
541330 - Engineering Services 76 9.5%
541620 - Environmental Consulting Services 12 1.5%
541690 - Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services 30 3.8%
541710 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering and Life Sciences 8 1.0%
541720 - Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities 1 0.1%
Film
512110 - Motion Picture and Video Production 16 2.0%
512120 - Motion Picture and Video Distribution 0 0.0%
512130 - Motion Picture and Video Exhibition 2 0.3%
512190 - Post-Production and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries 4 0.5%
Games
334610 - Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media 0 0.0%
339930 - Doll, Toy and Game Manufacturing 1 0.1%
414460 - Toy and Hobby Goods Wholesaler-Distributors 2 0.3%
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Heritage
712120 - Historic and Heritage Sites 0 0.0%
712130 - Zoos and Botanical Gardens 0 0.0%
712190 - Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions 0 0.0%
Marketing
541910 - Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling 4 0.5%
Museums
712111 - Non-Commercial Art Museums and Galleries 1 0.1%
712115 - History and Science Museums 0 0.0%
712119 - Other Museums 0 0.0%
813210 - Grant-Making and Giving Services 9 1.1%
Music
512230 - Music Publishers 1 0.1%
512240 - Sound Recording Studios 3 0.4%
512290 - Other Sound Recording Industries 0 0.0%
Performing Arts
711111 - Theatre (except Musical) Companies 5 0.6%
711112 - Musical Theatre and Opera Companies 0 0.0%
711120 - Dance Companies 0 0.0%
711130 - Musical Groups and Artists 3 0.4%
711190 - Other Performing Arts Companies 2 0.3%
711311 - Live Theatres and Other Performing Arts Presenters with Facilities 1 0.1%
711319 - Sports Stadiums and Other Presenters with Facilities 2 0.3%
711321 - Performing Arts Promoters (Presenters) without Facilities 1 0.1%
711322 - Festivals without Facilities 1 0.1%
711329 - Sports Presenters and Other Presenters without Facilities 1 0.1%
711410 - Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers and Other Public Figures 0 0.0%
Photographic Services
541920 - Photographic Services 15 1.9%
Public Relations
541820 - Public Relations Services 4 0.5%
Publishing
511110 - Newspaper Publishers 5 0.6%
511120 - Periodical Publishers 11 1.4%
511130 - Book Publishers 0 0.0%
511140 - Directory and Mailing List Publishers 0 0.0%
511190 - Other Publishers 0 0.0%
519110 - News Syndicates 0 0.0%
Radio & Television
515110 - Radio Broadcasting 3 0.4%
515120 - Television Broadcasting 1 0.1%
515210 - Pay and Specialty Television 0 0.0%
Web & Software
511210 - Software Publishers 0 0.0%
517210 - Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) 4 0.5%
518210 - Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services 3 0.4%
519130 - Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals 3 0.4%
519190 - All Other Information Services 0 0.0%
541510 - Computer Systems Design and Related Services 162 20.3%
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Patterns Data 2008
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